Athletic Director Status ---- Tom Wistrcill

[clarkwgriswold]

I don't know the situation well enough to be on either side of the AD discussion at this point, but my question is, comparing him to the ADs at similarly situated Ohio public colleges (Ohio U, Miami, BG, Toledo, Ken+, CSU, YSU), what is he not doing that they are doing? I don't see our programs lagging behind those.

[Zip_ME87]

You can't have it both ways.

1.) It is undeniably proven that we got lucky when Lolla left. Our program reached a height it would never have reached if Lolla was the coach. Had Lolla stayed, we would have no National Championship. Just some 2- or 3-deep tourney runs. That's why Lolla left...he flat-out said he couldn't win a National Championship at UA.

2.) Caleb Porter's hiring was no fluke. I recall talking to our AD at the time, and lamenting Lolla's loss. He said "Don't worry, we got someone even better." I thought he was full of it, but he was 100% correct. It is also undeniable.

@CK - who was the AD that hired Caleb? Mike Wadell? (That timeframe of changing AD's is gray to me.)

[Zip_ME87]

At the time of Lolla's departure, it was a big deal. No one in their right mind thought UA could win a D-1 National Championship in any sport, and UA men's soccer was already the flagship team sport of the MAC. A #1 ranking and a deep tournament run was a huge deal. Of late, only Can't baseball has made a deep tournament run and that happened once. So, let's not down-play Lolla's success.

Caleb Porter coming here was a matter of luck in that someone else better was available and also willing to come to UA. Had it not been Caleb Porter, we'd all be lamenting the loss of Lolla. That's all I'm saying.

My point was that we thought it couldn't be better than Ken Lolla. He left; we lamented it. Caleb Porter was available and was hired. We got a National Championship, a 2nd runner up, multiple Zips on pro soccer teams, an Akron Head Coach chiding "Zips fans" for wearing blOSU gear, etc.. We were lucky (Mega, if you want) that the timing of Lolla's departure allowed for Caleb's hiring. Lolla said it couldn't be done at Akron...perhaps that was added incentive for Caleb, although I doubt he needed it. So ironic that our National Championship came in a game vs Ken Lolla's Louisville team. Still hasn't been done in 9 years at Louisville after 13 (?) at Akron.

[jupitertoo]

Keith Dambrot was on Joe Dunn's radio program sometime last year and was asked about other programs in the MAC. He said that the schools that invest most heavily and effectively in basketball are Ohio, Toledo and Akron. He then said something far more interesting: Ohio's Jim Schaus is "by far the best AD in the league." That certainly seemed to be a shot at TW, but my guess is it's based on a few things he's seen: Ohio has a very effective marketing program and strong attendance; Schaus can raise money like crazy (nearly $3 million in new seats for Convo, new b-ball locker room and lounge, practice court facility in blueprint stage, center-hung video boards on order, new academic building exclusively for athletes, and more). Jury is still out on his current b-ball coach but he inherited huge holes due to coaching turnover. So I'm guessing that if KD were asked, he'd prefer to have someone else in the big chair.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I don't know the situation well enough to be on either side of the AD discussion at this point, but my question is, comparing him to the ADs at similarly situated Ohio public colleges (Ohio U, Miami, BG, Toledo, Ken+, CSU, YSU), what is he not doing that they are doing? I don't see our programs lagging behind those.

Is the "bar" for a NE Ohio Athletic Department "...to not lag behind CSU or YSU? Or K.e.n.t.?"

If so, if that really is all we can and should expect... then you're correct.

[Captain Kangaroo]

@CK - who was the AD that hired Caleb? Mike Wadell? (That timeframe of changing AD's is gray to me.)

It was Waddell who told me, but he was gone by the time Caleb arrived and Rhodes was the guy that actually inked Caleb's contract.

[Captain Kangaroo]

At the time of Lolla's departure, it was a big deal. No one in their right mind thought UA could win a D-1 National Championship in any sport, and UA men's soccer was already the flagship team sport of the MAC. A #1 ranking and a deep tournament run was a huge deal. Of late, only Can't baseball has made a deep tournament run and that happened once. So, let's not down-play Lolla's success.

Caleb Porter coming here was a matter of luck in that someone else better was available and also willing to come to UA. Had it not been Caleb Porter, we'd all be lamenting the loss of Lolla. That's all I'm saying.

1.) No one downplays Lolla's success. But in baseball, he would be a AAAA player...too good for AAA, and not good enough to be a major-leaguer. And note - UA soccer was a force long before Lolla. It isn't like he built anything from the ground up.

2.) Identifying a great young coach, and signing him, is not a fluke. Great AD's make great hires. No one goes 100%, but the great ones always seem to pluck great talent. The bad AD's don't have an eye for talent. They make crippling decisions based upon flawed logic.

The great AD's move on to bigger positions, bigger programs. Bobinski, Rhodes, Thomas. To a lesser extent - Waddell, and Yurachek.

Where's Dennis Helsel? Middle school principal somewhere?

Some people are happy with a guy who "manages the game." I get it. It's a safe way to keep pace with Bowling Green, YSU and CSU.

[K92]

Keith Dambrot was on Joe Dunn's radio program sometime last year and was asked about other programs in the MAC. He said that the schools that invest most heavily and effectively in basketball are Ohio, Toledo and Akron. He then said something far more interesting: Ohio's Jim Schaus is "by far the best AD in the league." That certainly seemed to be a shot at TW, but my guess is it's based on a few things he's seen: Ohio has a very effective marketing program and strong attendance; Schaus can raise money like crazy (nearly $3 million in new seats for Convo, new b-ball locker room and lounge, practice court facility in blueprint stage, center-hung video boards on order, new academic building exclusively for athletes, and more). Jury is still out on his current b-ball coach but he inherited huge holes due to coaching turnover. So I'm guessing that if KD were asked, he'd prefer to have someone else in the big chair.

I heart Ohio.

[Dave in Green]

Is the "bar" for a NE Ohio Athletic Department "...to not lag behind CSU or YSU? Or K.e.n.t.?"

If so, if that really is all we can and should expect... then you're correct.

The first bar to reach for is to be best in NEO, then best in the MAC, then beyond. If UA can't even reach the first bar, what use is there in daydreaming about even higher goals? Continuous improvement, one step at a time, is a practical strategy when reaching for the sky.

[UAZipster0305]

1.) No one downplays Lolla's success. But in baseball, he would be a AAAA player...too good for AAA, and not good enough to be a major-leaguer. And note - UA soccer was a force long before Lolla. It isn't like he built anything from the ground up.

2.) Identifying a great young coach, and signing him, is not a fluke. Great AD's make great hires. No one goes 100%, but the great ones always seem to pluck great talent. The bad AD's don't have an eye for talent. They make crippling decisions based upon flawed logic.

The great AD's move on to bigger positions, bigger programs. Bobinski, Rhodes, Thomas. To a lesser extent - Waddell, and Yurachek.

Where's Dennis Helsel? Middle school principal somewhere?

Some people are happy with a guy who "manages the game." I get it. It's a safe way to keep pace with Bowling Green, YSU and CSU.

I am going to disagree again. Without Porter being available, we were up Shit's Creek, and it would not have mattered who the AD was. UA men's soccer would have suffered a set back upon Lolla's departure.

Before Lolla, UA men's soccer had history and tradition, many NCAA appearances, and was a finalist once. Under Coach Parker (Lolla's predecessor), we struggled to win the MAC consistently. Lolla took the program to the next level as did Porter.

In evaluating Porter's greatness, consider all the NCAA sports...how many new coaches have taken a mid-major program from being very good to completely dominant at the national level? I don't know of any. Without Porter available, our AD (regardless of how good) would have made a mediocre hire and the program would have suffered a setback. A poor AD would have made a terrible hire and sunk the program (e.g. UA football, iCoach).

[Captain Kangaroo]

I am going to disagree again. Without Porter being available, we were up Shit's Creek, and it would not have mattered who the AD was. UA men's soccer would have suffered a set back upon Lolla's departure.

Impossible to disagree with concrete evidence like that. You win.

[UAZipster0305]

Impossible to disagree with concrete evidence like that. You win.

But saying that an AD is excellent by virtue of hiring Porter is concrete evidence? With a string of great hires, I might agree. However, this is one data point and I attribute it to the right time and place. The stars aligned.

I'm done.

[ZZZips]

1.) No one downplays Lolla's success. But in baseball, he would be a AAAA player...too good for AAA, and not good enough to be a major-leaguer. And note - UA soccer was a force long before Lolla. It isn't like he built anything from the ground up.

2.) Identifying a great young coach, and signing him, is not a fluke. Great AD's make great hires. No one goes 100%, but the great ones always seem to pluck great talent. The bad AD's don't have an eye for talent. They make crippling decisions based upon flawed logic.

The great AD's move on to bigger positions, bigger programs. Bobinski, Rhodes, Thomas. To a lesser extent - Waddell, and Yurachek.

Where's Dennis Helsel? Middle school principal somewhere?

Some people are happy with a guy who "manages the game." I get it. It's a safe way to keep pace with Bowling Green, YSU and CSU.

Thanks for the memories Captain!

Dennis Helsel

Director of Athletics Emeritus

Chowan University

"Dennis Helsel served as Vice President/Director of Athletics for Chowan University for eight years. He retired from the position in December 2013 and currently serves as an assistant professer in the SSPE department. Helsel has over 30 years of intercollegiate athletic experience that includes associations with several NCAA Division I universities as well as an NCAA Division I athletic conference. As a result of his dedication and commitment to Chowan, President White named him Director of Athletics Emeritus. Helsel is the first in school history to receive the honor.

Helsel graduated from West Point in 1969 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in engineering sciences. He then served in a variety of military assignments to include Viet Nam before going to the Pennsylvania State University for graduate study. After completing his Master of Arts degree in Mathematics at Penn State in 1976, he was assigned to instruct mathematics courses at West Point and serve as assistant coach for West Point’s lightweight football team. One year later in 1977, he was named the school’s first varsity head softball coach and was promoted to Assistant Professor in the Math Department.

Helsel resigned from active military service in 1980 and returned to Penn State to pursue a second Masters degree. While he was working to earn his second graduate degree, he was hired as the Pennsylvania State University Head Softball Coach. He was the head coach for one year (1980-1981) before being asked to step aside as coach and accept the position of Athletics Events Manager. As the Athletics Event Manager, he coordinated all home athletic events at Penn State in addition to coordinating all football travel. He served in that capacity for two years before being hired by Old Dominion University. Helsel continued his athletics administration career at ODU as the Assistant Athletic Director for Business. After five years with ODU, Helsel moved north to Syracuse University.

From 1988 to 1995, Helsel served as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Finance and Team Services. During his tenure he directed Syracuse’s football and men’s basketball game management operations, improved budgeting processes and reporting, and developed a formal Summer Camp Policy Manual that was offered to the NCAA as a resource for other colleges and universities. In 1995 Helsel was promoted to Associate Director of Athletics, assuming the responsibility of Chief Financial Officer for the Syracuse Athletics Department. In all, he worked at Syracuse University for 10 years and in those years under his direction as CFO and Assistant AD for Finance and Associate AD the athletic department never experienced a deficit financial statement. During those ten years, Helsel was responsible for successfully negotiating high dollar contracts with visiting football and men’s basketball teams and various college football bowl organizations.

In 1998, Helsel was hired as the Director of Athletics at the University of Akron (OH). During his two years at Akron (1998-2000) Helsel directed 17 intercollegiate athletic teams, 65 staff members and 350 student-athletes. Under his direction, the University of Akron saw dozens of student-athletes garner both national and conference awards. In addition, his leadership facilitated significant upgrades to existing athletic facilities and the creation of new athletic facilities.

In 2000, Helsel was asked to reorganize the external arm of the University of Maryland athletics department. That assignment was completed in one year and in 2001 Helsel accepted a position with Conference USA, a growing NCAA D-I athletic conference. From 2001-2003 he served as the league’s Associate Commissioner in charge of Finance, the Director of Football Operations, and Men’s Basketball Tournament Director. In 2003 his responsibilities changed somewhat when he was put in charge of Sports Services, Championships and Football Operations. During his three years with Conference USA, he conducted 14 conference championships and negotiated football scheduling contracts with television partners for the conference.

In 2004 Helsel stepped away from the athletics world and went to work for a non-profit organization called “Team Focus,” located in Mobile, AL. As the President, he was responsible for coordinating all aspects of the program that mentors young men who have lost fathers for whatever reason. Throughout that period he was also a key motivational speaker for the 5 day leadership camps – a staple of “Team Focus.”

But the lure of returning to intercollegiate athletics grew strong in his heart and in February of 2006, Helsel accepted the position of Director of Athletics at Chowan University. His return to intercollegiate athletics has produced immediate results. There are new organizational charts, newly created policies and procedures manuals, new coaching hires, upgraded athletic facilities, new athletic facilities, balanced budgets and increased athletic scholarship dollars. But probably his most significant accomplishment to date has been overseeing the administrative process that culminated in the granting of full active NCAA Division II membership, effective September 1, 2007. In August of 2012 Helsel began his position as Chair of the NCAA DII National Men's Soccer Committee.

The central Pennsylvania native is married to wife, Sue. Together they have three children Mike, Chris, and Jenny and five grandchildren, Mia, Maci, Ava, Jack, and Avery. They are all Chowan Hawks proud."

Source: Chowan University Athletics, emphasis added.