Arizona, New Mexico ADs highlight LABC luncheon at Final Four
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Luis Miguel,
- April 3, 2026
LABC honors former Nike exec Tony Dorado
INDIANAPOLIS – Despite her busy schedule during the Final Four, Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois made time Friday afternoon to address the Latino Association of Basketball Coaches, LABC. She literally practiced what she preached during her speech to the group at the Skyline Club.
“I can tell you the best head coaches are the ones who are very secure in what their purpose is,” Reed-Francois said. “So I leave you with that. Also with that challenge to make sure that you are meeting people and bringing others along with you.
“That’s the best part of what we do. It’s always the people, and this is a relationship business.”
For the second year in a row, a Latino athletic director with a team in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Final Four made time to attend the LABC luncheon on the eve of their team’s game.
Reed-Francois’ Arizona Wildcats will face Michigan in a duel between a pair of No. 1 seeds. A year ago, University of Houston AD Eddie Nuñez attended the luncheon.
Support appreciated
“I know she’s extremely busy with her team here in the Final Four,” LABC co-founder Jason Ludwig said. “So for her to come and give her words of wisdom and support to our organization and to our members was incredible.”
University of New Mexico athletic director Ryan Berryman delivered the keynote speech. Former Nike executive Tony Dorado was presented the LABC’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Reed-Francois was the guest of honor.
“I’m humbled by this award,” Dorado said. “But I am honored because it’s being given to me by my heritage. Like I said, my dad provided myself and my older brothers the guiding light in which I lived every day.
“He stressed really two things: he talked about education, getting ahead. Even though he wasn’t a college graduate, never set foot on a college campus, but he stressed the importance of college for myself and my older brothers. And we heard what he had to say.”
Familia key for Tony Dorado
One of Dorado’s older brothers became a Superior Court judge in the San Francisco Bay area for 40 years.
“And he also, most importantly, stressed family,” Dorado said of his father. “And it was the importance of familia that was something that we took to heart. We all have that, right?
“The Latino heritage, the Latino culture is all about familia. But it’s what we do with it, what we learn and how we pass it on that was important.”
Berryman’s mother’s maiden name is Cena. His great-great grandfather signed the state constitution of New Mexico. Berryman said he’s very proud of his Hispanic roots.
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Similar to several folks at the luncheon, Berryman started his athletic operations career as a student manager for his college’s basketball team. He was the Lobos’ student manager in 2012.
After serving as the University of Washington’s senior associate athletic director and CFO, he returned to his alma mater in March 2025. Less than a year later, he was promoted to interim AD after Fernando Lovo, who had replaced Nuñez, left New Mexico to become Colorado’s AD.
Second youngest AD in FBS
Once the interim tag was removed, Berryman became the second youngest AD at a Football Bowl Subdivision school.
“By accident I became one of the youngest athletic directors in the country,” Berryman said. “And last month I was fortunate enough to be hired full-time. … It’s a blessing of a lifetime.
“I share all this not to talk about me, but so that we can relate. We all have similar journeys as he we try to climb the ladder. I want to be an asset for everyone in this room in the same way that Fernando and Eddie were assets for me.”
Berryman’s message definitely resonated.
“It was just great to hear about his journey, his path coming up being the first in his family to go to college and having to kind of recreate his identity after playing high school basketball and not playing in college, which was my path,” Ludwig said. “So to hear his journey and to see the success that he has as one of the youngest ADs in all of athletics is an incredible accomplishment.”
Luis Miguel
Our Esquina contributor Luis Miguel is a Boston sports fan and former college basketball player who has built his career at the intersection of sports and business. He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas and currently resides in Miami.
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