If you haven't seen it today, there is a massive THREE-FULL-PAGES interview with Mack Rhoades in today's sports section. This is on the day that the Browns couls clinch the playoffs, and they take up almost the entire sports section including the entire front page with an interview of our AD. So to the ABJ staff who had the guts to make this call: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Here's the article in it's entirety. Head over to the ABJ website for the Ohio.com discussion forum, just be prepared for the trolls that will inevitably bash all things nice in the city of Akron.http://www.ohio.com/sports/12783267.htmlRhoades paving way By Patrick McManamon Beacon Journal sports columnist Published on Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 It has been two years since Mack Rhoades took over as athletics director at the University of Akron, and if it seems like he has been a man constantly in motion . . . well, it's probably because he has.The signature achievement of Rhoades' tenure has been the announcement that UA's football team will play in a new, $61.5 million on-campus stadium starting in the 2009 season.Rhoades knows that with that new facility comes new expectations, and he wants UA to meet them.''We want to be a program that's recognized not just within our conference but on a national level,'' Rhoades said. ''Can we become a Boise State? Those are the things that we're really striving for, working hard for.''But limiting Rhoades' accomplishments to just the football program does not do justice to the overall work he has done as athletics director.The school's basketball program is thriving, the soccer team remains a national power, the ''minor'' sports have improved across the board, and graduation rates and average grade-point averages are up. All while he has added about a dozen new hires to buttress the department as he balanced the budget.This past week Rhoades sat down with Beacon Journal sports columnist Patrick McManamon to reflect on his first two years.Q: It has been two years. How have you enjoyed it?A: I've loved it. Great experience. I think from a bunch of different perspectives, first and foremost my family. My wife and three daughters love it here. They've really become comfortable here in Akron and are doing well. Professionally, it's been a great experience. Ton of challenges. Learning every day. Work for a great president, (Dr. Luis M. Proenza, who is) very, very supportive of the athletics program, which gives us an opportunity to be successful. We've made a lot of changes in the two years here. We'll continue to change and try to get better, but certainly we don't do that without his support.Q: Tell me the two or three things you're proudest of that have happened since you have been here.A: I think the one that is apparent to everybody is the football stadium. Being able to finally put that project together, make a formal announcement that we are, indeed, going to build it. That we have our financing package in place. That we are out raising money for it. That we are in the design/development stage. Now here, hopefully, in the next month to two months we are able to break ground and play our first game there in 2009.That took a village. That is not just one person. There are a lot of people involved in order to make that project happen. The fact that it all came together, I'm very proud not just for our athletics department, but for our university and our community.I think the things we are trying to get done academically here. Internally, some of the processes that we're putting in place, whether it's an academic review process. This institution is an open-enrollment institution. So some of the academic review process that goes into bringing student-athletes in didn't exist. We were able to put that in place, and we were able to look and track what kind of student-athletes we were bringing in academically. With that, the class attendance policy. Student-athlete academic contracts.The fact that we're trying to get better in terms of our graduation rates. This past federal graduation rate in 2007 was 78 percent (up from 60 percent in 2006). Are we perfect? Absolutely not. We are working to get better. There are two.Three, I think is the sense of community and vision for our athletics program. I feel like we've got just a great group of people — staff that are committed to the student-athlete experience. They genuinely have passion. We made a lot of staff changes and I think we have a group of people that are on the same page and genuinely like each other, get along with each other. And we have that one vision, our three goals, our mission statement and our core values, which really dictate what we do.Q: It looks like you've added a lot of people to the department and also balanced the budget. How does that come together?A: It takes support from the university. But we've also been fortunate enough to generate more revenue since I've started. Again, that's a lot of good people working hard together. When you look at, for instance, our football revenues, we were able to increase that by 100 percent. Attendance for football has again grown. Men's basketball. When we got here, we outsourced our marketing and multimedia rights. Merchandising and licensing, so we've really, really focused on our revenue-generation areas and have been fortunate enough to be able to increase those. Once we get into the new stadium, we really think that we'll really be able to increase them dramatically. That's the great news. The bittersweet news, I guess, is we need that revenue to help pay for the stadium. There's a fine balance in terms of some of that revenue back to debt service but also some of it back to our operational budget so we can continue to grow.Q: How much of what you do is fueled by football? How much is football the engine of the athletics department?A: Football has to be successful for us. And let's face it, it needs to be if you're making a $61.5 million investment to put a stadium on campus. We're going through the strategic planning process with coach (J.D.) Brookhart as we speak in terms of what can we become as a football program. We want to be a program that's recognized not just within our conference but on a national level. Can we become a Boise State? Those are the things that we're really striving for, working hard for. And I think men's basketball has to be extremely successful for us. There are 119 Division I-A programs. Football, men's basketball (bring revenues). Women's basketball at some institutions as well and maybe some other sports. For us here, we need both of those sports to be very successful.Q: Can you become a Boise State? What can your football program expect?A: I wouldn't be here if I didn't think we could. And I mean that sincerely. And I don't mean that in a boastful way. I think we've got enough good people in place, we've got the support of our administration. I think our community will be supportive of it. I think we have some pieces in place that we can get there. It takes time.There are a lot of factors that go into it. There's facilities. There's operational budgets. There's trying to keep good coaches and keeping consistency on staff. There's a scheduling component to that as well. There's what type of kids are you able to recruit. Not just talent, but there has to be a great blend of talent, character and academics. We're looking at every one of those aspects.To make a very short question probably more complicated, yes, I think we can get there. And that's our belief. And we're going to work our tails off to do that.Q: The cold reality is football is coming off a tough season, 4-8. Can you afford another season like that next year heading into a new stadium?A: No. One, I think that's a great question. I answer it probably two different ways. In terms of record, I always hate to put a record on it because there's so much more behind it. But then at the end of the day that's what your record is and that's what we're all going to be judged on. I think for us, we've got a young football team that is doing the right things internally. Maybe people don't see, but in terms of what we're doing academically, what we're doing character-wise, what we're doing in the strength and conditioning area, those things, we're getting better. We're getting better. If you look at the season, there was one conference game where we didn't have a chance, and that was at Bowling Green. Everything else, we had an opportunity. As long as you see those things and you can see your program moving forward, I can sit here and say we're making progress.Now, were any one of us happy with 4-8? Absolutely not. And we know we need to get better. And like I said, we'll work our tails off to do that. As we move into a new stadium, it's important that people see that we're getting better.Q: Is J.D. part of the future with the new stadium?A: Absolutely.Q: You believe in what he's doing, obviously?A: I think the relationship between an athletic director and the head football coach is unbelievably important. First and foremost, they have to be on the same page in terms of the vision of the program and how we're going to get better and grow a program. It does take time. You look at Rutgers. It took Greg Schiano time. We have to be patient. And at the same time, we also have to see evidence that things are getting better.Q: Do the scholarship rules help a school like Akron more? You see so many more upsets now.A: I think the rules with scholarship limits with 85 per school have helped, no question about it. I think where it gets difficult, though, is just the money that's available. You look at it in comparison. There are 119 Division I-A programs, but we're competing against Ohio State with a $106 million budget and ours is just right under $17 (million). Can that be an excuse? Absolutely not. We've got to make the most with what we have. I think that's going to be our challenge: Are we making the most with what we have? We're going to try like heck to do that.Q: When you say you don't want to be recognized only within your conference, what are you looking at in terms of goals?A: If you're specifically talking about our football program, No. 1, obviously, it's your conference. We've got to be competitive in our conference, and our conference has right now affiliation with three bowl games. We want to grow a program so that we can consistently play in a bowl. I think that's the challenge for this level. It's not a bowl game and then two, three years off and then a bowl game.How can we get to a point where we're consistently there, where it's expected? With those expectations is a whole new set of problems, but we want to get there. When you look at the national level, I really gauge national in terms of can we get ranked in the top 25.Q: One impression we get, and impressions are sometimes wrong, but local high schools don't seem to think there is enough local recruiting with local (football) players. Do you have any concern on that?A: I think J.D. has done a good job in terms of clinics and trying to get to know some of our high school coaches and reach out to some of our high school coaches. I think we can always do a better job in terms of our own backyard. If you put priorities in where we recruit — and that's part of building a program, where are we going to look? — you have to start at your own backyard and the state of Ohio. Then you go out. It's difficult in your own backyard and the state of Ohio because of all of the institutions that we have competing with one another in such a close proximity. That's new to me. When you have a Can't State and a Bowling Green and a Toledo and an Ohio University — a lot of competition in the state of Ohio.Q: You said it took a village to get the stadium together, but it came together under your watch. Why? Others have tried before you and not succeeded.A: I just think that there were a lot of people, myself included, that wanted to make it happen. We made a concentrated effort to do it this past year. Organized ourselves to where we had different subcommittees. I served as chair. We made it a priority, and fortunately there were a lot of people that wanted it to be a priority, too.Q: The economy here is not the strongest. I guess it's obvious you're confident that this community can support the stadium.A: I really believe it. Again, it's like any business. When we look at the intercollegiate athletics, there's the business side and there's the human life, education side. From a business standpoint, we have to have a good product. We really do. If we can put a good product together, I think this community will support it. I think there was evidence in terms of how they supported the Motor City Bowl in Detroit. I honestly believe it. Is it going to happen automatically? No. We're going to have to work, again, extremely hard to do that. We're going to have to work in terms of grass roots, get out, ask people to support us. Make sure that we have a great facility so that when they come they enjoy all the amenities but then also have an exceptional product as well.Q: Let's talk about basketball's importance.A: That is very important to us as well. We have a men's head basketball coach who was born and raised in this city. He has great ties to this community. What he's done in three years as head coach has been tremendous in terms of won-lost record. What he's done in terms of the program has been exceptional. I think there's a whole lot of people that want to come and play here at JAR Arena, and that's because of the great job he's done.Q: Can that help you gain an identity, too?A: Absolutely. We've talked about football, but what's our vision for men's basketball? Same philosophy. We want men's basketball to be a national program. We've got certain sports programs that we really need to be at a national level. So men's basketball in terms of conference. We want to compete for the Eastern Division championship every year. MAC Tournament. Then again, ranking of top 25. If there's a program to model that's been a quote-unquote mid-major, Gonzaga is doing it every year. They don't play in a 12,000-seat arena. They play in a 6,000-seat arena. As we focus on basketball, and we're in the strategic planning process there, it's important that we do those same things.Facility. We're in the process right now of really analyzing the arena. Do we need a new arena? Do we renovate the arena? We've got the football stadium going. Our vision now in terms of what's next for our facilities is we really need to look at our basketball facility.Q: Is it easier in basketball?A: I don't know that it's any easier. I think both are going to be challenges. I think that in terms of win-losses, we've been very successful in basketball the three years. Five players vs. 22, those things, possibly. But you look at the league and what's hard about our league is the East side. You look at Ohio and you look at Can't and you look at Miami. So that makes it very, very challenging. The other difficult piece is again, football bowl game (has) three opportunities. Basketball right now, I don't remember the number off the top of my head, but when's the last time the Mid-American Conference has had two into the NCAA Tournament? That is difficult. Now you have to win your tournament every year to go. Hopefully we're changing it.Q: But when the NCAA Tournament gets to a point that a team wins its conference and wins 26 games and loses its tournament on a last-second shot . . .A: That was hard to swallow. That was probably one of the most difficult times I ever had in terms of an administrator. Not only do you not go to the NCAA Tournament, but you just didn't go postseason. Looking those kids in the eye and saying, 'Hey, 26 wins, all the hard work, and we have to have an assembly in JAR Arena to appreciate you.' Sometimes things aren't always fair.Q: My question, and this may be a bigger issue than Akron, but it's almost like the people who run the basketball tournament are saying to small schools that no matter what you do we're only taking the bigger names. What is the message that sends to a place like Akron?A: I mean . . . I don't know. I think for us, the way I'd answer that: Control what you can control. So we need to focus on ourselves and just make sure that we get better and we do everything we can so that when it comes to that time we're under consideration.Q: What about the other sports? There seems to be a lot of success there.A: They're absolutely vital. Intercollegiate athletics plays, I think, such an important role in the community. In terms of pride, etc. We want all of our sports programs to be successful — to win and to graduate our student-athletes. Right now I'm happy with the progress that the majority of our sports programs are making.Am I satisfied? Absolutely not. Are the head coaches of the programs satisfied? No. But I think we've hired a lot of new coaches here the last two years, I think we've got great people in place and you're beginning to see the sports programs improve. Women's basketball wins double digits for the first time since I don't remember when. Six-game win streak. You're starting to see things change.When we talk about one of our goals is experience, meaning our student-athletes have a great experience athletically, academically and socially, hey, the student-athlete has a lot better experience if they're winning versus losing. That's part of it.Q: When you state your GPAs, do you have a goal on what you want an average GPA to be?A: We would really, as a total department, love to have an overall GPA of 3.0. That's what we're striving to do.Q: You're heading in that direction?A: We're heading in that direction. And again there's a lot that goes into that. It's your processes, your policies, your academic support services. It's your head coaches and their recruiting. So it doesn't happen by accident.Q: I asked the two or three things you're most proud of. What are the two or three biggest challenges you see moving forward?A: I think one of the greatest challenges that we have here is growing our programs so that we're successful on a consistent basis. We talked about that earlier that it's great to go to a bowl game, but we don't want then to drop off. It's great to go to postseason. One of the greatest challenges I think is going to be winning on a consistent basis.I think facility needs for us. The football stadium is great, and certainly is going to help this university, this community. But what else?Look at basketball, just everyday operational facilities for men's and women's basketball. Locker rooms, team lounge, offices, those types of facilities. We have a men's soccer program that's ranked nationally. We need to do something with our soccer stadium. We actually have a feasibility study that was just completed in terms of a brand new soccer stadium. That's a project on the board, along with JAR Arena and those renovations and/or a new arena. Baseball field. We need to address facilities for baseball. Track and field, the outdoor component. Tennis courts.So we've got a very comprehensive and strategic plan that really looks at all of our facilities. But that would be a challenge for us as well.Q: Are those all realistic? Can you do them all?A: I think yes. Absolutely. One step at a time. I really think we can do that. Akron is a great place. It really is. It's a great community, and I think that this university means a heck of a lot to this community. And if you look at how the university has transformed over the last five or six years, it's been tremendous. I think athletics is such a large window to this university locally, regionally, nationally. We're very fortunate to have a lot of good people working hard. And we're going to continue to do that.Q: You see yourself here for the long term?A: As long as they'll have me.
