Two people with knowledge of the decision say South Florida has hired Michael Kelly, the chief operating officer of the College Football Playoff, to be its new athletic director.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because a formal announcement was being finalized. The hire was first reported by college football reporter Brett McMurphy.
Kelly worked at USF, based in Tampa, Florida, as an associate athletic director from 2001 to 2002. He was part of the committees that worked to bring the Final Four and the Super Bowl to Tampa in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Before coming to the College Football Playoff in 2012, Kelly was an associate commissioner at the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Kelly replaces Mark Harlan, who left USF to become AD at Utah.
