After a day full of speculation, Missouri Director of Athletics Jim Sterk put out a statement at 8:40 on Friday night that he is not a candidate for the same position at the University of Central Florida.
“I do not normally comment on speculation on social media," Sterk said in the statement. "But, over the last 24 hours several media members have indicated that I may be involved in the Athletic Director’s search at the University of Central Florida. I am not a candidate at UCF. We have great momentum at Mizzou and Mizzou Athletics, and I am looking forward to tomorrow’s top 20 basketball showdown in Mizzou Arena."
Rumors of Sterk's candidacy emerged early on Friday morning. PowerMizzou.com reached out to a Mizzou spokesman requesting comment from Sterk at 8:27 a.m. Throughout the day, speculation continued as things remained quiet on Missouri's end. Chatter out of Orlando intensified that Sterk was a candidate, and perhaps even the top choice to replace Danny White, who was hired by Tennessee on January 21st.
Sources have told both PowerMizzou.com and our colleagues at UCFSports.com that there was interest in and contact with Sterk. UCF's President is Alexander Cartwright, who was previously the Chancellor at Mizzou. Cartwright was hired at UCF on March 20, 2020.
But whatever the interaction was over the last few days, Sterk will remain at Mizzou. He is approximately four-and-a-half years into a seven-year contract which pays him a guaranteed $700,000 annually. The contract features up to $150,000 in incentives plus $150,000 per year in deferred compensation, meaning the total value could be as high as a million dollars per year.
"My wife, two of my three daughters, son-in-law and grand-daughter enjoy Columbia," Sterk said in his statement. "I’m excited to work with the Board of Curators, President Choi, our coaches, staff and talented student-athletes to continue the winning tradition at Mizzou.”
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