The University of Mississippi Athletics
John Shafer Resigns as Director of Athletics.
April 12, 2002
OXFORD, Miss. - John Shafer, who has served as Director of Athletics at The University of Mississippi since July 1, 1998, has resigned his position, effective April 15.
Shafer informed the athletics staff with a prepared statement during a Friday morning meeting at the Michael S. Starnes Athletic Training Center.
Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat, who attended the staff meeting, said an immediate search will begin for a replacement and expressed a desire to fill the position by July 1.
"First and foremost, The University is grateful to John Shafer for his dedicated leadership for the Department of Athletics," Chancellor Khayat said. "We are a better Department of Athletics now than when he came here.
"For the last year, Mr. Shafer and I have talked about his family considerations that he mentioned in his statement. It has become apparent that the time had come for him to think about being closer to his family and put himself into a position to do that. When we had these conversations, I supported him and encouraged him to look after himself and his family, and to know that the Ole Miss people are grateful."
"Over the past few years, Dianne and I have been considering possible job opportunities nearer to our families," Shafer said in the statement. "Earlier this week, I shared our decision to move forward with this plan with Chancellor Khayat.
"We agreed it would be in my best interest and in the best interest of Ole Miss to resign my position as Director of Athletics effective April 15, 2002.
"I want to thank Dr. Khayat for the wonderful opportunity he has afforded us to be a part of the Ole Miss family. I also want to thank all the staff, students, alumni and supporters who have welcomed us into this family. We have enjoyed our time in Oxford tremendously.
"The Chancellor has done some extraordinary things at Ole Miss. We hope that we, in some small way, contributed to these efforts. I also want to thank our coaches, staff, and, most especially, our student-athletes for their loyal support. We wish them all well."
Ole Miss head football coach David Cutcliffe, head men's basketball coach Rod Barnes and head baseball coach Mike Bianco all voiced their appreciation for Shafer's efforts during his time as Director of Athletics.
"I appreciate the opportunity and support that John Shafer has given me at Ole Miss," Cutcliffe said. "We all are grateful for his leadership and contributions to our lives, personally and professionally. We will miss John and Dianne, and we wish them well with their future endeavors."
"John's leadership of the Ole Miss athletic department has been tremendous, and that is evident in the growth of the department and the success the University's sports programs have had over the past four years," Barnes added. "I understand John's desire to pursue opportunities closer to his and Dianne's families, but he will be missed. John and Dianne will always be a part of the Ole Miss family, and we wish him all the best."
"I was very shocked and very disappointed," Bianco said. "Mr. Shafer was the one that hired me and he has been very supportive of the program and myself over the past year and a half."