Tim Fuller is back in Columbia, and he’s back for a brand new role.
Missouri basketball announced Monday morning that Fuller has been hired as the program’s first general manager, a role that is becoming increasingly popular among high-major football and basketball programs as universities prepare for the revenue-sharing era.
Fuller was an assistant coach for the Tigers from 2011-15 on the staff of then-head coaches Frank Haith and Kim Anderson.
Since then, Fuller has spent time as an athletics advisor to the president at Harris-Stowe State in St. Louis, before returning to the sidelines as an assistant coach on former Tiger Kim English’s staff at Providence for two seasons.
Over the course of his coaching career, Fuller has worked for the likes of Rick Pitino. He has also worked on the inception of Overtime Elite, a league for elite high school prospects, and was an executive at Nike.
Now, he’s returning to Columbia to lead the Tigers into a new era of recruiting and fundraising.
“This role is a full-circle moment for me,” Fuller said in a news release. “College basketball is evolving, and I’m excited to help Missouri stay at the forefront as the program’s first general manager.”
“Tim is a perfect fit for Mizzou and the newly-created general manger position,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said in the release. “His elite combination of skills and experience in the sport and his innovative mindset is exactly what this job requires. He is one of the most connected individuals in the sport and his ability to form relationships is what makes him a great addition to our staff.”
Added Gates: “I have known Tim for several years and he continues to hold Mizzou in great regard. I’m excited to get to work with him as we continue to build a successful and modern basketball program.”
As Mizzou noted in the news release, GMs around the nation will primarily be responsible for helping construct rosters, raising NIL funds and working out how the money is spent.
The role is not far removed from the type of general manager you would find in the NFL or NBA: a front-office type tasked with handling the day-to-day and business side of a team’s operations.
The revenue-sharing model for college athletics is still expected to pass, even as parties wait for U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken’s required approval, which is still in limbo within a month of the NCAA’s expected implementation date of July 1.
If and when the settlement is approved, universities will be allowed to distribute $20.5-million worth of revenue with student-athletes, making roster building and retention a great deal more expensive — and potentially time-consuming.
To address that need, hiring general managers has become an increasingly popular trend across power-conference sports, most commonly in football and men’s basketball.
Some teams are leaning more toward popular alumnus or celebrities — like Sacramento State and newly appointed GM Shaquille O’Neal, or Davidson and recently named assistant GM Steph Curry — in what is likely a revenue-generating move as probable high-profile boosters.
Missouri is going a different route, hiring a business and basketball-oriented mind who will assist with the day-to-day happenings of the program.
On April 29 at an athletic department caravan stop in St. Charles, Gates told the Tribune that he thought about making the move after his first year on the job, which would have been after the 2022-23 campaign — and well ahead of the curve. The coach said he decided against it as he wanted to “keep that role as my responsibility, because I knew what I needed to take place.”
Many of the roles of the GM, Gates said, previously fell on him.
Now, they’ll fall under Fuller’s umbrella.
“Now you can add the dimension of the changing times around us. I thought it’s the right time, or think it’s the right time now, to (hire a GM),” Gates said April 29. “Ultimately, what do I think it’ll allow me to take place in? It’ll allow me to continue to do other things without dividing time. Agent relationships is a real thing. It’s very important throughout the season. It’s very important in the offseason. And (hiring a GM) frees any staff up and allows guys to really focus on the players in your program.”
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