Dave Brandon

David Arundel "Dave" Brandon (born May 15, 1952) is an American businessman and the former Athletic Director for the University of Michigan, a position he held from 2010 until his resignation on October 31, 2014. He was formerly chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and manager of Domino's Pizza. Brandon took over Domino's in March 1999 when founder Thomas Monaghan sold it to the investment group Bain Capital.^[2] Prior to Domino's, he was the CEO of Valassis Communications. He is also a former regent of the University of Michigan and former football player at the University of Michigan.

Education

He graduated with a bachelor's degree and teaching certificate from the University of Michigan in 1974. While in Ann Arbor, he was the back-up quarterback of the university's football team, under the leadership of Bo Schembechler, though he only played in one game at another position.^[3] As a sophomore, Brandon was a reserve player on the 1971 Michigan Wolverines football team, assigned No. 24, and listed as a 6-foot, 3-inch quarterback from South Lyon, Michigan.^[4] In his junior and senior seasons, he was listed on the roster of the 1972 and 1973 Michigan football teams as a defensive end assigned No. 85.^[5][6]

Brandon's on-field time was limited to a single game. Although he received three Big Ten Conference championship rings, the former high school star quarterback says he played only a few minutes of mop-up time as a 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end. Brandon remained close to Schembechler and the Michigan program after his playing career was over, often attending and speaking at alumni events. In his memoirs, Schembechler remarked that Brandon might someday run for governor, and if so, he'd have his vote.^[7]

Brandon has honorary doctorate degrees from Walsh College,^[8] Schoolcraft College, Lawrence Technological University, Cleary College, Central Michigan University,^[9] and Albion College.

On May 9, 2009, David received his honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Albion College during the college's commencement ceremonies, in Albion, Michigan. He also delivered a commencement address to the 2009 graduating class.^[10] and finished his address by giving a graduation present to each of the graduates. Taped to the bottom of each of their seats was a coupon for a free pizza and a soda.^[11]

Politics

Brandon was elected to the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan in 1998, as a member of the Republican Party. In the November 2006 election, he lost his reelection bid to Democrat Julia Donovan Darlow.^[12] His term expired December 31, 2006.

An avid participant in Republican politics, Brandon had expressed interest in running for the United States Senate in 2006 against Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow. However, he announced in August 2005 that he would not be a candidate in the 2006 elections. According to public records, Brandon has donated almost $200,000 to Republican Party candidates and election committees.^[13]

Television

On May 5, 2005, Brandon appeared on the third edition of Donald Trump's The Apprentice as part of the finale CEO interview panel.^[14] In an advertisement that first aired on January 21, 2009, David starred by "oven baking" a cease and desist order from Subway. He was seen putting the letter in a pizza oven, and the letter caught on fire. Subway had sent the letter to Domino's to stop advertisements for their new oven baked sandwiches that noted a 2 to 1 advantage over Subway's subs in an independent taste test.^[15][16]

Dave's Blog

David keeps a blog, titled "Dave's Blog," which is accessible only to Domino's Pizza franchisees and corporate store managers. In his blog he talks about such topics as his personal unannounced visits to stores and the price of cheese.

University of Michigan athletic director

On January 5, 2010, Brandon was named athletic director at the University of Michigan, succeeding Bill Martin.^[17] Since then, he has been criticized for changed ticket policies^[18] that resulted in roughly a third fewer^[19] students buying season football tickets.

On September 30, 2014, a graduate student in the School of Public Policy posted petition on the website of the University's Central Student Government asking that Brandon be fired. By 1:30 that afternoon, more than 5,400 students had signed.^[20] An additional 1,000 signed within the next hour and the petition continued to grow to more than 10,000 signatures — roughly ¼ of the student body — by midnight of October 1.^[21] The same day the petition was posted, hundreds of students gathered at the home of University President Mark Schlissel calling for Brandon to be fired. These protests resulted from a revelation by Brandon that Michigan quarterback Shane Morris played in last Saturday's game against Minnesota even after suffering symptoms of a concussion. One criticism of Brandon's handling of the situation regarded Brandon issuing the statement at 1 a.m. on September 30. Dave resigned from the position on October 31, 2014.^[22]

References

External links

• Michigan Wolverines profile
• David Brandon's campaign contributions