#flagship #ourAD
http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/152470378/ncaa-best-athletic-directors-rankings
October 1, 2015
TOP 25 COLLEGE ATHLETIC DIRECTORS
Athletic directors are frequently local stories, but rarely are they national ones. Typically, the only time fans hear about ADs of other schools is when they're in trouble: When they have to fire a coach and then hire one, when they hire the wrong coach, when they are involved in a scandal, etc.
We hear about Steve Patterson getting fired after a disastrous stint at Texas. We hear about Dave Brandon getting canned after a similar disastrous stint at Michigan. We hear about Julie Hermann continuing to fail to adequately lead Rutgers (even if we never actually hear from her personally).
So, with Texas still on the lookout for a new athletic director, let's take the time to run through which ADs have been doing the best job in major college sports. Criteria include success in all sports -- which can be measured by national championships and standing in the Directors Cup -- but particularly in the revenue sports of football and men's basketball. We also factored in avoiding scandals and NCAA issues, national respect (which can be illustrated in part by various national leadership positions), stability, how one handles being the face of an athletic department and keeping all parties -- athletes, coaches, boosters, fans, administrators -- happy. And, finally, coach hirings and firings.
This is an inexact exercise. But when a school as powerful as Texas is looking for a new AD, these are some of the names it should wish to have.
11. Ross Bjork, Ole Miss. Ole Miss has had a stellar run since Bjork arrived in 2012, with the football team's rise under Hugh Freeze and a pair of NCAA tournament appearances and an SEC title for the men's basketball team under Andy Kennedy. Bjork hired neither, but Ole Miss has hit a period of growth, which is a pattern for him. In three years as AD at Western Kentucky -- where he became the youngest AD in the country -- the football team went from winless to a pair of seven-win seasons under coach Willie Taggart. Bjork reportedly turned down the Missouri job in March.
12. Scott Stricklin, Mississippi State. Like Bjork, his rival up the road in Oxford, Stricklin has been present for an impressive for Mississippi State, both in football and across the board in the department. Its football team reached as high as No. 1 in the AP poll last year and hasn't missed a bowl game under Dan Mullen since Stricklin's arrival in 2010. He has orchestrated $130 million in facilities upgrades.
http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/152470378/ncaa-best-athletic-directors-rankings
October 1, 2015
TOP 25 COLLEGE ATHLETIC DIRECTORS
Athletic directors are frequently local stories, but rarely are they national ones. Typically, the only time fans hear about ADs of other schools is when they're in trouble: When they have to fire a coach and then hire one, when they hire the wrong coach, when they are involved in a scandal, etc.
We hear about Steve Patterson getting fired after a disastrous stint at Texas. We hear about Dave Brandon getting canned after a similar disastrous stint at Michigan. We hear about Julie Hermann continuing to fail to adequately lead Rutgers (even if we never actually hear from her personally).
So, with Texas still on the lookout for a new athletic director, let's take the time to run through which ADs have been doing the best job in major college sports. Criteria include success in all sports -- which can be measured by national championships and standing in the Directors Cup -- but particularly in the revenue sports of football and men's basketball. We also factored in avoiding scandals and NCAA issues, national respect (which can be illustrated in part by various national leadership positions), stability, how one handles being the face of an athletic department and keeping all parties -- athletes, coaches, boosters, fans, administrators -- happy. And, finally, coach hirings and firings.
This is an inexact exercise. But when a school as powerful as Texas is looking for a new AD, these are some of the names it should wish to have.
11. Ross Bjork, Ole Miss. Ole Miss has had a stellar run since Bjork arrived in 2012, with the football team's rise under Hugh Freeze and a pair of NCAA tournament appearances and an SEC title for the men's basketball team under Andy Kennedy. Bjork hired neither, but Ole Miss has hit a period of growth, which is a pattern for him. In three years as AD at Western Kentucky -- where he became the youngest AD in the country -- the football team went from winless to a pair of seven-win seasons under coach Willie Taggart. Bjork reportedly turned down the Missouri job in March.
12. Scott Stricklin, Mississippi State. Like Bjork, his rival up the road in Oxford, Stricklin has been present for an impressive for Mississippi State, both in football and across the board in the department. Its football team reached as high as No. 1 in the AP poll last year and hasn't missed a bowl game under Dan Mullen since Stricklin's arrival in 2010. He has orchestrated $130 million in facilities upgrades.
