MSU Athletic Director Posts Heartfelt Message to Bubba Cunningham

July has brought change the the athletic department at the University of North Carolina.

Athletic director Bubba Cunningham announced he will step down as athletic director in the summer of 2026 and step into an advisory capacity. It was announced RFK Racing president Steve Newmark would step into the role next year and help usher the Tar Heels into the new era of college athletics.

Mississippi State athletic director Zac Selmon worked for Cunningham in Chapel Hill. Incidentally, he also worked under Joe Castiglione at Oklahoma. Castiglione also announced he will be stepping aside next summer.

Selmon parlayed his time with both gentlemen to land the gig at MSU. Tuesday Selmon took the time to post a note on social media wherein he expressed his feelings about both of the men he referred to as "titans".

“This past week, two titans in our industry and influential mentors in my life, Joe Castiglione and Bubba Cunningham, announced new chapters and journeys in their futures,” Selmon said on X. “Some people go their entire careers without finding an elite mentor like Joe or Bubba, but I am blessed beyond measure to have a front row seat in watching not just one, but two game changers and difference makers positively transform lives, their communities and fanbases for the better.

"I carry these invaluable lessons with me each day here at Mississippi State. Overwhelmed with gratitude to these two for paving the way for so many," Selmon said. "I ‘tip my cap’ to two of the best.”

Selmon started at Oklahoma in 2009 where he worked under Castiglione. He came to Chapel Hill in 2014 when the Tar Heels named him associate athletic director/special assistant to the AD. He only lasted two years with Cunningham, but he learned a lot. He took what he learned back to Oklahoma who promoted him to senior associate athletic director in 2015.

In 2023 Selmon arrived in Starkville when John Cohen left for Auburn. Selmon might be on the march back to Oklahoma again as rumors are circulating he is the leading candidate to replace Castiglione next summer.

Selmon is also from Norman, where OU's campus is located. He has roots there and something says Selmon is going back home in the very near future. He will take with him what he learned from Cunningham in his two years at North Carolina.

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