Alumni Magazine - Summer 2008 - (Page 42) I N T E RV I E W quality student athletes here so that they not only compete in the classroom but they are also very competitive on the field of play. Is it a tough sell because of the academic rigors at Tech? There are people who are up to that challenge and people who understand that it’s not a secret that going to Georgia Tech gives you a great education and if you’re going to get that great education you’re going to have to pay the price as far as the academics are concerned. The student athlete who casts their lot with us understands that. Over half of our student athletes had a 3.0 or better this past semester. That’s very good and we’re quite proud of that. The biggest part of the job of a director of athletics is to solve problems, make sure you put the right people in the right roles and continue to try to motivate the people who are in your department. You can’t ever lose sight of the fact that you are part of an educational institution and that’s very important. It’s not like running your own independent business, because you do have parameters that you work within and you have to find the best way to maneuver through those obstacles and to make sure that you’re still allowing your student athletes and your coaches to have the best ability to be competitive. chandise. The ability to gather revenue and the ability to fundraise are always at the top of the to-do list each and every day. Is it hard to ask for money? No, not really. It’s something that you grow into. I think people who are willing to give philanthropically really like the opportunity to sit and talk with the person directing the program. It just becomes something that you do. I really can’t explain it in A, B, C form. It just happens. Is fundraising a part of your job every day? Sure, we basically are a charity. We’re a separate 501C and we receive our charitable contributions in any number of ways, not only strict philanthropic donations but also the sale of tickets and mer- What is the most difficult to deal with: finances, administration, coaches and players or Tech fans? I would say our challenges here are very much along the financial side of things. We’ve had really a great groundswell of support, not only from our fans but certainly our students have come forward and helped us. There are a lot of things that are challenges, but if it wasn’t for the student athletes and it wasn’t for the coaches and it wasn’t for the fans, we wouldn’t have a department. They are all constituents and each one of them at certain points in the year has more needs. We In a nutshell, can you describe your job? 42 Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine • Summer 2008
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