I can't say I'm not surprised. Kevin Blue was obviously operating on another level in terms of athletics. He did a lot of work to bring us up to speed in the D1 environment. He will be extremely hard to replace.

Unfortunate for UCD, but not unexpected that he moves on. I would have guessed a P5 school his destination, but I can also see how a good job in Canada must look pretty good to Canadians right now. And there may well be some serious troubled waters ahead for UCD athletics. I hope he does well in this endeavor. What will be interesting is to see how May responds. Announced so far is asst director will be interim director and a search committee being formed to fill the position in early 21. If this was a known departure, there may already be a successor on deck for a quick strike. If it’s a real search, will be interesting to see if the committee focuses on qualifications or tries to shoehorn a diversity hire.

Very sad to see this, but as has been said, it had to come sometime. 5 years is a long spell for an y AD these days. I think that May is probably the most savvy chancellor we have ever had when it comes to athletics. He seems to really grasp its importance. I think the list of applicants to replace him will be impressive and we will find a quality new AD very quickly. Good luck to Kevin and thank you!

Disappointing timing and a shorter tenure than some would have expected or hoped for. Whoever the next leader is needs to be fully engaged in UCD program and view as a long term destination rather than a step along the way to the next opportunity. Mr. Blue did great things in his time, best of luck to him and family.

Who are the names that will be considered as replacement?

I would not be surprised to see Desiree Reed-Francois of UNLV on the list. She is very highly respected as UNLV’s AD. She is Hispanic and she is doing an excellent job at UNLV. She is also very well known to our new Provost who was just hired out of UNLV. A long shot would be Tiffany Grimes out of Alabama. Probably well known to Chancellor May from his time at Georgia Tech. Tammy Smith
-Jones out of UC Riverside might be a good choice as well. She is very highly respected AD at Riverside. Last but not least, there is Daryl Gross at Cal State LA. Former Aggie and I believe he was a finalist for the Davis AD spot before Blue was named. Thats just the tip of the iceberg. The Davis AD job is a choice opportunity position for many up and coming young assistant and associate ADs across the land. Also, May is well known and respected as the Davis campus’s first black Chancellor and the only one in the UC system. Yes. Expect diversity in this new hire.

I’m in Toronto and saw a little blurb about Team Canada soccer and saw a familiar face. An Aggie connection in the 2026 World Cup!

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/canada-soccer-kevin-blue-chris-jones-oct15-1.7352502

Thanks for posting this, Mike. It sounds like Blue has a complicated task ahead for Canada Soccer in preparation for the 2026 World Cup. He accomplished so much here in a relatively short period of time as the AD for Aggie Athletics that I hove no doubt that he will be able to do the same with Canada Soccer. They've got the right man for the job.

It has been long enough for me to have unpacked Blue's tenure at UCD. I think looking back it was at best a mixed bag. His EVO program for me was more for positioning his next career move rather than to benefit the UCD student athletes. His inability to garner major support from alumni was probably due to the general consensus from Aggie alumni.. EVO is no longer in the department. The overall sports program was good but not great. He did not have higher superstars for his staff. As for his job with the World Cup 2026, it is a huge deal, and I will be rooting a 100% for the Stars and Stripes.

And don't forget how he basically told Matt Vaughn to sweep the baseball hazing under the rug. Vaughn was a sacrificial lamb in that mess. Granted the team didn't do very well overall under him (or Rex Peters for that matter), but he didn't deserve the stigma attached to that. I don't know that Vaughn has been able to find (assuming he's even looking for it) coaching work since then, at least not at the college level.

You neglect to mention the hiring of Dan Hawkins to rebuild Aggie football, and he was likely knee deep in helping fund the high performance facility and naming rights. Blue and Rocko.

No Hawkins, who knows where we are now. Possibly no new HP facility, maybe Coach Plough doesn't come back.