Becoming An Athletic Director : Jeff Swenson

college level, the hiring of coaches is a key responsibility for athletic directors that can be subject

When I was deciding what I wanted to choose for my major, I thought about things that I love doing. One thing in life that I have passion for is sports, whether it be playing sports or helping others develop their skills for their sport. My long term goal for a career, I want to be an Athletic Director for a college. In order to become an Athletic Director there are certain step that someone needs to do in college to try and have the best chance at getting their dream job. Athletic Director is not a career that a person just graduated from college and gets hired by a school, they must work their way up from an entry level job and slowly moves their way up.

Joe Ehrmann describes how he has developed his philosophy of coaching by relating the story of his life in his youth, high school and in college describing two different types of coaches he had played for. The first are coaches who were impersonal, authoritarian, and sometimes abusive which he calls transactional coaches; this is in contrast to the humane coaches he calls transformative coaches. Coaches must face this responsibility because we all remember our coaches. “This is the awesome power and responsibility of coaching: You give your players memories, for better or for worse that stay with them until the day they die” (Ehrmann, 2011 p 46-47). Joe Erhmann goes on to ask, “What is the moral and ethical composition of their program?

I will inspire athletes to demonstrate good character. Sports do not have an influence on one’s character; however, coaches can strongly impact athletes’ character, both negatively and positively. For this reason, I will work to coach in ways that support the growth of athletes’ character and create learning opportunities and situations in which athletes can practice and learn from. As a coach, I will lead by example and demonstrate good character because actions speak louder than words. I will do this by embodying sportsmanship and respecting athletes, opponents, other coaches, and referees. I will also show this to athletes by respecting, caring, and being trustworthy. I will also lead by example by staying

Some principals may feel called to be an administrator. Mr. Newson was an excellent coach. He used sports analogies and metaphors to convey his messages. His leadership approach was to allow the teachers to teach while he was there to provide disciplinary support. His goals and life vision were not

Overall, I would say that my career goal of becoming a high school athletic director has not changed. I very much enjoyed the tasks and environment of working in an athletic department. The only downside that I observed were the long hours due to having to be present both at all home athletic events, and in the athletic office during the school day. Other than that one downside, I think that I would really enjoy being a high school athletic director. This job would allow me to fulfill my desires of changing the lives of young athletes and promoting the importance of education.

It all started with an email seeking freshman male in his coaching and administration program. The 2012 graduate of UConn’s Sport Administration and coaching program, William Aloia, says this future success as the Associate Athletic Director for The College of St. Rose started out by almost” falling into his lap”. The New Jersey native began his undergraduate experience with two Division-I parents, and like an abundance of people he knew that working in sport was something he wanted to do. Previously a part of the Kinesiology department under the late Joe Marrone, Will jumped on the opportunity posted through an email and started his freshman year as a basketball manager for the very successful UConn’s basketball program. He explains how this experience “opened his door up”. Will states; “once I started at UConn working with the women’s basketball program and being around collegiate athletics at such a high level it’s really something in itself, and unbelievable experience. I knew it was for me, I didn’t know which part for sure, but I knew this was something I wanted to do.” What Will realized very quickly realized about working in sport is that often times it is a thankless job. However, that did not stop him from finishing his undergraduate career as a four-year manager for the basketball team. The motivation for Will early in his career has been a two-dimensional illustration of success.

Dr. Camden Wood Selig is the athletic director for Old Dominion University. Dr. Selig was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina but grew up right here in Norfolk, Virginia. He’s in his sixth year as ODU’s athletic director and his impact has already been felt. At first glance, his nonchalant attitude doesn’t strike me as a college athletic director. I expected an upbeat, go-getter persona, after all he is in one of the highest professions in college sports. But I don’t think he necessarily doesn’t have that side to him. His “Championship Effort” motto that he has introduced to his athletic program can be shown through his accomplishments, ultimately he is a “doctor”.

What are the differences in athletic administration between interscholastic and recreational sport programs? What is the importance of having a mission statement in any sport program?

This past Thursday I had the opportunity to sit down and conduct a phone interview with Jordan Maleh. Jordan graduated from UConn in 2006 with a Bachelor’s in Sport Management and then his Master’s in Sport Management and Sociology in 2008. He currently works at the Big Ten Network in Chicago, Illinois as the Director of Digital and Consumer Marketing. As a graduating senior, this interview was very helpful to me because it gave me the chance to ask a professional in the sport industry, such as Jordan, questions about his experience at UConn and how he got his start in the sport industry and to where he is today.

Sports are a significant part of society and spectators enjoy particular events regardless of the type. However, there are many players who develop special working and social relationships with whom they are participating regardless of the type of sport. The relationship and how people interact with one another can be the determination of how successful a team can be. The particular film based on a true story that I chose is titled When the Game Stands Tall. This film consists of a high performing football team of De La Salle High School in the state of California. Jim Caviezel portrays the head coach (Bob Ladouceur) as a man with such vision and passion that goes beyond the fundamental principles of coaching the game of football. The football team had won 151 games without being defeated which is the highest winning record a team has had in the game of football. The film shows the internal struggles of the players in their lives as people, and how they perform on the field. It also shows the external tragic difficulties that they face while they attend and play for De Le Salle High School. In the movie, the head coach helps the students/players by not only coaching them but also showing them how to live a flourishing life by committing to endure difficult life situations and the way to overcome them. He helps teach the principles of brotherhood and companionship with the team that they build. In the movie, the head coach and the staff had taught the players

One of the main athletic director duties is the scheduling of  both home and away games, scheduling referees, and scheduling transportation for away games. This important duty for any athletic director can take up a large part of their time depending on how many teams they have per season. Another area where we saw similarities is in staff management. In our four schools, it is the role of the athletic director to hire the coaching staff, provide the necessary training, provide feedback and guidance, and to help mediate conflicts with parents and student athletes. The

Staffing a school is the most important responsibility and service a principal has to attend and to provide a school. Students have a right to be taught by highly qualified teachers and in this case a highly qualified basketball coach. The case study #16 presents a situation where the principal has to begin recruiting to fill a basketball coaching position that has been long filled by two brothers that are ready to retire due to health reasons. The principal feels the pressure to have to fill this position, but finds it a bit challenging for a number of reasons—salary considered too low, not enough interest in “girls’ teams by the community, racial and gender concerns, and scandals in nearby district concerning males coaching girls’ teams. An athletic director for the high school suggests that she look into asking the parents of the players. (Kirschmann, 1996)

A: I worked in the University 's Budget Office for three years before working in athletics. I began my career in Athletics in 1993 as the Senior Business Manager where I worked with day to day activities and reconciling. I was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director in 1999 and Associate Athletic Director in 2005. On September 2010, I was offered the position I hold now: Senior Associate Director for Business and Finance.

“To this day, after being in this business … the best day on a college campus is graduation, When I see kids I had a relationship with … graduating, you feel like you had a part in that.” David Williams, Athletic Director of Vanderbilt Athletics. Being around sports my whole life and now currently coaching a basketball team, I have encountered a few athletic directors and their supporting cast, which in a high school, it’s the principal and the administration staff. In some circumstance, especially from most coaches’ point of view, it is always about the result of the team and how good the players are. For some athletic directors, it is the same, but at the school I coach, it is also about