Ralph was named Director of Athletics in 2007 and currently manages a department with a budget of $8.5 million and 14 NCAA Division III and two NCAA Division I (men’s ice hockey, women’s soccer) programs. Before returning west in 2007, he spent five years as AD at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Like Colorado College, Rensselaer also […]
PoA059 | Mike Snyder, Illinois College
Mike Snyder is in his second year as the athletic director of Illinois College. Prior to Illinois College, Snyder was at Oberlin College, a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference, located in Oberlin, Ohio. Snyder has served in a variety of progressive leadership roles, most recently as Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations. During […]
PoA052 Tim Downes | Emory University
Tim Downes is the Director of Athletics and Recreation at Emory University, an NCAA Division III institution in Atlanta, Georgia. Tim discusses his efforts to develop a “statement of principles” for the Athletics Department, including the process, challenges and benefits he encountered. Downes was named the 2013-14 Under Armour AD of the Year for Division III. […]
PoA #017: Complaints Happen, Are You Ready?
No matter how sound your management and leadership practices are, things happen. With hundreds of student-athletes participating each year, it’s inevitable that some will have concerns, complaints or issues they will express to the Athletics Director (or higher authority). So what do you do? Do you have a plan in place? Are there policies or […]
Part-time Job, Full-time Expectations
An on-going battle for most small college athletics programs involves part-time staffing. Most often it’s coaching positions but can extend to administrative staff as well. The challenge is balancing expectations for the job with the realities of paying a person less than a livable wage, which often requires him or her to supplement income with […]