In today's high-pressure world of NCAA sports, an effective athletic director must be able to meet ...


"They want you to win all the games, they want you to graduate all your student athletes, they want you to raise more money, sell more tickets and don't cheat while doing all of that."

R.C. Johnson, University of Memphis athletic director


hey all want to know Jeremy Foley's secret.

In one year, he has transformed from the alleged doofus known for hiring and firing the overmatched Ron Zook as the University of Florida's football coach to the athletic director with the golden touch.

Foley beamed when the Billy Donovan-coached Gators won the NCAA basketball championship in April 2006. He was ecstatic when second-year football coach Urban Meyer brought home the BCS national championship in January. He was amazed when Donovan's team repeated as national champions in April.

So other athletic directors are curious. Tell us, Obi-Wan Kefoley, what do you know that we don't?

"We're blessed for one year," said Foley, who recently received a contract extension and a raise to make him the first athletic director at a public school to earn $1 million annually. "We have quality coaches and student athletes, and we got 1,000 breaks for those national championships to happen. Somebody has to fumble, or block a kick, or somebody has to miss a 3-pointer.

"We don't have everything figured out, and we don't want to give the impression that we do. We're happy for our program, happy for our university, but it's almost a new season and a new year. Last year is gone."

That's the challenge of today's Division 1 college athletic director.

They and their fan bases can't get no lasting satisfaction.

From expanding budgets for a full load of men's and women's sports, to a facilities arms race, to never-ending fundraising, to a savvy Internet-fueled fan base, athletic directors have become plate spinners who simultaneously walk financial tightropes.

As University of Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson says tongue in cheek, today's athletic directors must try to live by five commandments from school presidents, chancellors and their board of regents.


The way we were isn't the way we are

Being a college athletic director used to be considerably easier. Before the early 1970s, the financial stakes in college athletics weren't as high, so there were fewer problems.

There wasn't as much blatant cheating, so the NCAA didn't place a high priority on its rather-thin rule book. Academic standards were minimal.

Fundraising began and ended with season-ticket sales. Fan feedback consisted of confronting an athletic director at a hot dog stand during a seventh-inning stretch to tell him they were out of mustard.

Many athletic directors were former coaches. They believed the A.D. job consisted of scheduling games, ordering equipment, making an occasional hire and telling the quirky golf coach that his team didn't need to fly to Bermuda for two tournaments over spring break.

But two things changed the college landscape forever.

The first was the approval of Title 9 in 1972, a federal law that states that "no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

Hello, women's sports.

Then in June 1984, the Supreme Court ended the NCAA's 33-year reign over controlling the televising of college football.

Can you say "cash grab?"

The ruling opened up a floodgate of TV revenue, first for football and men's basketball games. Suddenly, there were ESPN, Fox, TBS, TNT and anyone else with a business plan and microwave dish.

As college athletics became a multimillion dollar business, a new type of athletic director came on the scene.

"There was a tremendous influx of accountants, attorneys and businessmen outside of athletics who were hired as athletic directors," said Skip Bertman, who's starting his seventh year as LSU's athletic director after guiding the baseball team to five national championships.

"In the last few years, there has been a swing back to get somebody who has an athletic background, who can raise money and who can motivate. It's a question of having vision, wanting to compete and holding every sport accountable."

There are still many schools, like Tennessee, where athletic director Mike Hamilton has strictly a business background. While that certainly is a plus when managing a budget of $78 million -- the largest in the SEC -- does it hurt him when making personnel decisions?

"I've got B.S. in accounting and an MBA, and that's not a be-all, end-all, but I think it has helped me be analytical in hiring coaches," said Hamilton, whose hiring of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl two years ago has exceeded most expectations. "Being an athletic director is like a coach. You have to decide who's the right fit at the right time. In the end, almost every big decision I've made comes down to gut reaction based on what's the best thing for our school."

Pearl turned what was a third-fiddle program behind football and Lady Vols' basketball into an arena-filling showcase. The success of two straight 20-win-plus seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances, stoked ticket sales and donors, like UT alum Larry Pratt who plunked down $5 million to begin building a men's and women's basketball practice facility.

After Pearl's first season, Hamilton gave Pearl a two-year extension through 2011-12 and a salary raise to $1.1 million. The move raised eyebrows from critics, but you don't hear a word from the doubters now.

Cash and carry

Whether you're Memphis' Johnson dealing with a $31 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, or LSU's Bertman and his $68 million budget, what never changes for athletic directors is the need to enhance fundraising and find new revenue streams. Most athletic departments try to be financially self-sufficient and avoid tapping into any federal or state money.

"Raising money is going to get even bigger," said Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton, who will retire next year after leading the MSU athletic department since 1987. "I don't ever see us not using private money to do anything anymore.

"I don't care what sport you're talking about, but you better not build a facility now unless you're looking at premium seating and skyboxes (two lucrative revenue sources)."

Money raised is used for much more than just athletic facilities improvements. More and more donations are earmarked to build state-of-the-art academic centers for athletes, armed with a staff of advisers and tutors.

Tougher academic standards, such as the APR (academic progress rate), as well as a thicker NCAA rule book, have forced schools to add personnel.

"There was a time when you had no compliance officer, and now you have a compliance staff," Johnson said. "There was a time where you had an academic advisor, but now you have a staff of them and well-equipped academic study centers for athletes."

The new rules have also forced athletic directors to think of ways outside the box to motivate athletes in the classroom.

For instance, Georgia athletic director Damon Evans instituted a policy last spring to ensure class attendance: Athletes with unexcused absences were fined $10, with the money going to the United Way.

The result was for the first time more than 50 percent of Georgia's student-athletes had a 3.0 or better grade-point average in the spring semester. There were far fewer dropped classes and a dramatic increase in credit hours earned.

"Drastic steps had to be taken to get academic success," Evans said, "and now we're getting want we want -- individuals going to class and getting a quality education."

Also, a few athletic directors such as North Carolina State's Lee Fowler, a former University of Memphis basketball assistant, have made it a point not to isolate the athletic department from the rest of the university.

"I felt like athletic departments need to be more involved in campus life," Fowler said, "and it's good for me and my staff to know what's going on the campus.

"So I'm an executive officer of the university and I go to twice-a-month, three-hour meetings to discuss university business. I want people to know me as more than just the athletic director. My chancellor believes that I'm a vital part of the university, and I need to be there when decisions are made."

Love of the job

The job of an athletic director gets tougher every year. They take the heat when long-time season ticket holders get upset about having to donate more money for prime seat locations. They hear their own coaches lobby for bigger budgets almost on a daily basis.

It would be natural for an athletic director to wilt under the daily cajoling and schmoozing to squeeze dollars from donors. Johnson said he spends half of his time meeting with donors, corporations and sponsors.

But every fall, when Johnson sees the student athletes back on the UofM campus for another school year, his blood gets pumping.

"You remember they are still the main reason we all do this," Johnson said. "When I see them come back all excited and ready to go, it invigorates me.

"There's nothing like college sports."

-- Ron Higgins: 529-2525


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