UW President Mark Emmert announced that interim AD Scott Woodward has been named the permanent athletic director at the University of Washington.
I'm not dissapointed with the hire. Woodward gets it and he has done a good job in the interim. With Scott Woodward you don't need to invest any break in time. He can start making decisions based on his recent experience running the department in the interim.
Woodward will have some tough challenges ahead which include raising $300 million too rebuild the stadium and possibly firing Ty Willingham at the end of the season. That possible firing and the subsequent replacement are going to be two huge decisions he will have to make during the next two months.
Woodward, 45, said a few months ago that he enjoyed his time as the acting AD, though he said he was concerned about what he termed "some complacency issues and some acceptance of mediocrity."
"People were assuming that doing the right thing and winning were mutually exclusive, and they're not," he said.
He said complying with NCAA rules and doing things in the best interests of the student-athlete should be givens and not considered separate from winning.
"Winning is a very important core value of what we do," he said.
Woodward will get his chance to change the culture in the UW athletic department and bring in some fresh blood. Hopefully some of that blood is purple.