This is a breakdown of Power, FBS, FCS and I-AAA athletic director hires since 2020 and a closer look at the AD hires since 2024. Since beginning my doctorate program in 2020, I’ve been closely tracking D1 athletic director hires, compiling data and identifying patterns. What started as a research interest has grown into a deeper focus on the AD position itself—and more recently, on the college presidents and chancellors who make the decisions to hire or fire.This post presents a few (but not all) key trends in AD hiring since 2020, marking the first in a series of studies I plan to write about in the weeks ahead. My goal is to provide leaders with insights to benchmark their institutions and help prospective athletic directors help forecast or course correct based on where they want to go next.