The First Few Weeks

ALL I CAN SAY IS AMAZING. The first few weeks on the job at CSU Channel Islands as the Director of Athletics has been truly amazing. I have be greeted with open arms, positive words and lots of support. From the students to faculty to staff to the local community members, there has been the constant welcoming feeling. It seems like everyone wants to see CSUCI succeed and are willing to provide a helping hand.


I had a chance to speak with two different groups of students on campus, and if this is any indications, we can and will have a successful athletic program. I have meet with students representing the Sailing Club, The Lacrosse Club, The Bike Kitchen (Bike Club), etc. In these meetings, there have been students that aren't connected to the various sports clubs but just students. One of the constant themes that I have heard from the students is "We don't care what sport, as long as we have a sporting team to get behind and support. The students have a better understanding of the process that we will go through to develop and create an athletic department, after I had a chance to explain it to them. Some of the students wanted to see us start fielding teams as early as September 2009 (three months from now). I told them I like their drive but that would be just about impossible for us. The reasons are pretty simple: 1) Have to review our budget to see what we can fund constantly over a two to three year period, 2) We need to make sure that we are in compliance with the NCAA policies and procedures, 3) We need to figure out what sports we can offer at this time based off of our lack of athletic facilities, 4)We need have a strategic plan in place that will chart our ramp-up to becoming a fully functioning department of CSUCI, 4) Need to confirm what sports are offered and sponsored within the NCAA and the athletic conference that we will belong to.

I also had a meeting with about 10 faculty members. I will have to say that I was nervous about meeting with the faculty because I just didn't know where most of the faculty members stood on the creation of an athletic department. Most of the faculty that I met with were recommend to me by various different administrator on campus. Overall, each of these faculty members were in support of athletics but did have concerns. One of those concerns were how practice and travel will affect which majors the student-athlete decides to take. This concern is a legitimate one because most of the classes on campus are between 11am and 4pm. As most of us know, practices times are typically anywhere from 12 noon to 6pm, depending on the sport. I mention to them that this would be something that we would have to work on. I did even go as far as to say is if the individual student-athlete had a class in the afternoon and that class was part of their major, that I would work with the coach to maybe have the student miss practice that day. I know this is a break from traditional athletic departments but I feel that we need to be different from most.

In my next posting, I plan to outlining the process that is set down by the NCAA (National Colliegate Athletic Association) on the steps that each school needs to go through in order to become a member of the NCAA at the Division II level.

Some History that you should know.

The California State University Channel Islands just didn't appear out of thin air. The University took nearly37 years to become a reality. What you will read over the next few paragraphs comes from the 2009-2010 CSUCI Catalog.


"Planning for a public, four-year university began in 1965 when State Senator Robert J. Lagomarsino co-authored Senate Bill 288 with Assemblyman Burt Hansenm calling for establishment of a four year college in Ventura County. Later that year, Governor Pat Brown signed a bill authorizing a study for a state college in Ventura County. In 1974, Dr. Joyce Kennedy established in Ventura the UC/CSU Ventura Learning Center and went on to serve as director of the CSUN (California State University Northridge) Ventura Campus for more than 15 years."

"In 1996, J. Handel Evans began as Planning President charged with beginning development of a public, four-year university in the region. In September 1997, on the recommendation of the chancellor and a community task force appointed by the Governor, the CSU Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept the former Camarillo State Hospital site for the purpose of transforming in into the CSU's 23rd campus. In July 1996, the CSU Board of Trustees formally accepted the name California State University Channel Islands for the new University. In September 1997, Governor Wilson signed into law S.B. 623 providing for the financing and support of the transition of the site for the use as a university campus. In 1999, the Ventura Campus moved to the Channel Islands campus and began a four year phase out of its academic programs."

"The CSU Board of Trustees appointed Richard R. Rush Founding President of California State University Channel Islands and he assumed his duties on June 2001. Dr. Rush's formal inauguration was held in April 2002. During the course of establishing the initial structures of the University, Dr. Rush has overseen and been directly involved in the hiring of faculty and the University's senior staff. In addition, he has directed the development of the University strategic, academic and physical master plans, infrastructure and road improvements, the acquisition of adjacent land, as well as successfully leading the University's efforts to achieve initial accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)."

"The formal opening of CSU Channel Islands was held on August 16, 2002. The public ceremony included participation by Governor Gray Davis, as well as educational and community leaders from throughout the state. Classes began on August 24 with approximately 1,320 full-time transfer students enrolled for the first year. The first freshman class arrived in fall 2003. At full capacity, CSU Channel Islands will serve more than 15,000 full-time equivalent students."

"The physical campus continues to grow at a steady pace to keep up with student and academic needs. The first major University construction project on campus was the Science Building completed in 2003. This structure provides much needed lab and auditorium spaces for students. The prestigious John Spoor Broome Library designed by world-renowned architect, Foster+Partners, opened in Spring 2008 and provides a state-of-the-art teaching and learning library for students, faculty, staff, and the community. The Martin V. Smith Center for integrative Decision -Making opening in May 2009, and includes a 'case study' classroom equipped with advanced audio/visual equipment to show in real-time the indices of the major world financial markets."

"CSU Channel Islands is a student-centered University, committed to academic excellence, civic engagement, environmental responsibility and leadership for the 21st century."

Let the Challenge Begin!!!

Well, here we go. I am beginning this blog to chronicle the development of the Athletic Department at California State University Channel Islands. The University is located in Camarillo, CA (Ventura County just west of Los Angeles, CA). Let take you back to the beginning. After nearly six years of working at Stanford University as the Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities, Operations and Events, On March 16, 2009 CSUCI officially announced my appointment as their first Athletic Director http://www.csuci.edu/news/releases/2009_CSUCI_Names_First_Athletic_Director.htm . From that day, I have been thinking and writing down all thoughts that I have had or have had after discussing my new challenge with family, friends, co-workers and fellow workers within the collegiate athletic world. To those who have offer suggestions and help, I say thank you. For those who haven't, there is still time.


I will not be able to develop this athletic department by myself. It will take meetings with students, faculty, staff, donors and administrators at CSUCI. It will take many, many conversations, emails, meetings, lunches, dinners, phone calls, sleepless nights and weekend work. It will take discussions with industries leaders. It will take discussions with friends and family. It will take a village and a community that want to see us succeed at the task that is ahead of us.


Many people have asked, "When will you start competition? What sports will you add? Do you have a staff? How will you recruit student-athletes? Do you have a strategic plan? When will you post job openings? What budget do you have to work with?... These are all great questions that have be presented to me. I will give you a quick breakdown of how I plan to attack this challenge over the next few months:


1. Meeting with Students and Faculty: With Commencement a little under two weeks ago, I will be meeting with a cross-section of students prior to them leaving for the summer. It is my hope that with these meetings, I will get a better understanding of what the students at CSUCI at looking for in an athletic program. I also hope to meet with members of the faculty here at CSUCI and to understand any concerns that they might have about the new athletic department. I hope to engage the faculty to understand how we will work together in developing this program.


2. Developing an plan of Action: Currently working on developing a five to seven year plan that will chart the course of building the CSUCI Athletic Department from number of sports to our mission statement to how we will interact with the local community. This plan will be our guiding light.


3. Staffing: Yes, I need a hire a staff. My first hire will be an administrative assistant to help get organized and keep me on track. Hope to have this position posted within the next three weeks. From there I will like to hire one or two of my senior staff. This all depends on our budget and what I have to spend over the next few weeks.


4. Meeting the community: If it my plan to get out and meet members of the local community. Whether its an local festival to a local service club or to local business leaders, I plan on being an active member of the community and marketing CSUCI Athletics to the community.


This is just the beginning of a long and challenging process that will be fun to be a part of and follow. It is my hope to update this blog at least once a week, most likely on the weekend. If there breaking, exciting news between my posts, I share that information with you as soon as I can. I welcome your feed back and comments as this blog grows and grows.