Southern Utah will have new athletic leadership after embattled AD resigns

CEDAR CITY — Southern Utah University is looking for a new leader of its athletic department.

Doug Knuth announced he has resigned from his position as Southern Utah athletic director Tuesday morning three years into a tenure that featured highs and lows for the former embattled administrator at Nevada.

Knuth cited a need to be closer to his family in a statement from the university, adding that "it has been a privilege to work with the coaches, staff and student athletes. I couldn't be more excited for the new opportunities that are coming."

In a follow-up post from his personal account on social media platform X, Knuth noted the Thunderbirds' "record fundraising" as well as an "all-time best academic and APR marks" and "new and renovated facilities with more coming soon."

In three years under Knuth's leadership, the university achieved its highest-ever APR score with a department-wide average of 985 and five teams earning a perfect 1,000.

The Flippin' Birds' gymnastics team won back-to-back MPSF championships following the dissolution of the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference, sweeping every major award this past year, and Thunderbird women's basketball won the WAC regular-season and tournament titles in 2023 to clinch the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

The university also installed a new artificial turf softball field, renovated the basketball and volleyball practice gym, a new soccer stadium, and a "state-of-the-art track throws area" at Eccles Coliseum.

But Knuth's departure is the second resignation from Southern Utah athletics in June, and comes eight days after head volleyball coach Kacey Nady resigned following four years with the school. In a news release, Knuth called the resignation "a great opportunity to identify a coach who can bring a new competitive vision to SUU volleyball," which won 29 matches in four years.

The third-year athletic director who was under contract through December following stops at Nevada and the University of Utah also had a tumultuous end to his time in Cedar City. The university was under a department-wide Title IX investigation, as first reported by Action Network's Brett McMurphy — an investigation Knuth publicly denied even as university officials told KSL.com that it "takes all reports seriously" while declining to address any specific allegations.

The investigation followed Knuth's time in Reno, where he was a central figure in four Title IX investigations at Nevada during a long-term investigation outlined by USA Today, including allegations of disparaging comments about pregnant women and an alleged inappropriate relationship with an assistant cheer coach.

One of Knuth's top assistants, deputy athletic director and operating officer Marie Tuite, was also involved in several investigations during her time as an administrator in San Jose State, as reported by Sportico.

Among other allegations, the veteran college sports administrator was accused of harboring a serial sexual abuser in the Spartans' former longtime athletic trainer and retaliating against current and former employees who raised complaints, according to the report.

That complaint led to an investigation and a $1.6 million settlement with the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. Southern Utah hired Tuite in 2023 following a "thorough vetting process," according to a school spokesperson.

The school appointed retired Utah fifth judicial district judge Tom Higbee to serve as interim athletic director, beginning July 15.

"We are grateful for Doug's time and commitment to SUU's Athletic Department," said president Mindy Benson in a statement. "We recognize Doug's accomplishments on fundraising initiatives for facility improvements, strengthening the student-athlete experience, and building a vibrant game-day culture. We wish him well in his future endeavors."

Southern Utah also finds itself in the middle of one of the latest waves of conference realignment, with the Western Athletic Conference soon to be down to just five member schools — SUU, Utah Tech, Abilene Christian, UT Arlington and Tarleton State — when Utah Valley joins the Big West next July.

Tarleton, which has openly stated ambitions of moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I, is also reportedly a leading candidate to join Conference USA if several expected waves continue to hit college sports, including the Pac-12's reported heavy interest in Texas State out of the Sun Belt, according to ESPN and others. Louisiana Tech from CUSA is seen as the leading candidate to replace the Bobcats in the Sun Belt.

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