Former Tulsa athletic directors say facilities and support make job attractive, despite department issues
BY BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Sunday, December 09, 2012
12/09/12 at 6:26 AM
When a football head-coaching position is vacated, media members and fans tend to apply an immediate label:
"That's a great job."
Or: "That's a job that could be pretty good."
Or: "That's a bad job."
Within the culture of college administrators, is there a similar reaction to the opening of an athletic director's job?
With Ross Parmley having been fired last week, the University of Tulsa will begin in January its process of identifying candidates and hiring a new athletic director.
While it is not known how much Parmley was paid as TU's athletic director, it is believed that his predecessor, Bubba Cunningham, made $375,000.
With a 2012-13 enrollment of 4,326, TU is the smallest school competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision. In Tulsa County, there are slightly fewer than 13,000 TU alumni. Oklahoma State's Tulsa alumni chapter has 32,000 members.
Raising funds is a challenge for TU. Judging from current and recent attendance figures, sales of Golden Hurricane football and basketball tickets have not been robust.
Considering the myriad issues that a new athletic director will inherit - most immediately and notably, an NCAA investigation into Parmley's gambling on football games - in what perception class does the TU job belong?
Great? Pretty good? Or bad?
Opinions from two former TU athletic directors:
"I have personal knowledge of the people, the commitment and the campus," Judy MacLeod said. "Is it the job for everybody? No. But it's a great job."
"If you evaluate (TU's athletic director job) on its own, I think it's looked on favorably," Rick Dickson said. "When you evaluate Tulsa in the new landscape, you'll have a variety of perceptions about it, I would think."
When Dickson mentions "the new landscape," he is referring to the ongoing change in definition of major-college conferences. TU has been a member of Conference USA since 2005, but the league is losing six - SMU, Memphis, Houston, Central Florida, East Carolina and Tulane - to the Big East.
It is believed that the Mountain West Conference recently examined the University of Tulsa - taking inventory of the H.A. Chapman Stadium renovation, the development of new facilities and the sustained success of the Hurricane football program - and may be considering TU as a candidate for membership.
After a new athletic director is hired in January or February, the conference situation will be an immediate consideration - as will an NCAA investigation into the gambling activity that resulted in Parmley's dismissal.
Dickson was TU's athletic director in 1989-94. He now is Tulane's AD.
"Just from professionals in the industry, I think everyone recognizes TU's commitment to athletics and their infrastructure," Dickson said. "Before, we used to jokingly refer to it as the Miracle on 11th Street - to be able to do the things we did without having the infrastructure and resources that are there today. You were able to achieve at a high level, but didn't have the staying power that Tulsa has now. Bubba (Cunningham, TU's athletic director in 2005-11) walked into a much different job than Judy or myself did.
"In what conference (is TU) going to compete? With all of these bombs going off around us - from the Big 12 to Conference USA and the Big East and so forth - in the new landscape, where does Tulsa land?"
Kevan Buck, TU's executive vice president and treasurer, served as the university's interim athletic director after MacLeod resigned and before Cunningham was hired. Until TU hires a new athletic director, Buck again has been designated as the interim AD.
"We have a bowl game (Dec. 31 Liberty Bowl) to plan, and currently men's and women's basketball that are in season, so it's business as usual," Buck wrote in an email to the Tulsa World. "We have a talented team of qualified individuals that manage the day-to-day operations of our athletic department, as well as an exceptional team of head coaches ...
"The last time I served as interim athletics director in 2005, many of the same individuals managing those areas of athletics are still in place and understand their jobs and what needs to be done."
MacLeod was TU's athletic director in 1995-2005. She now is Conference USA's executive associate commissioner.
"All jobs have their own particular challenges," she said, "but yes, I do think TU is viewed as a good job.
"It's hard for me to say anything but good. ... "
"You have to embrace the uniqueness of TU," MacLeod added. "If don't embrace it, you're probably going to struggle."
The inheritance for a new athletic director
After the University of Tulsa completes the hiring process
(probably not before late January or February), a new athletic
director will become the head of a department facing a variety
of issues:
NCAA investigation
Last week, TU President
Steadman Upham announced
the firing of athletic director
Ross Parmley. On Nov. 27,
Parmley was suspended after
a court affidavit — unsealed in
Oklahoma City — described
him as an “admitted gambler.”
The affidavit was part of an
ongoing FBI investigation into
an alleged Oklahoma City
gambling ring. A source told
The Oklahoman that Parmley
admitted to the FBI he
gambled on college football
and NFL games.
The NCAA prohibits athletic
department staff members
from “wagering on intercollegiate,
amateur and professional
sports in which the Association
conducts championships.”
TU has acknowledged that the
NCAA is conducting an investigation
of Parmley’s gambling
activity.
In a statement released by
the university, Upham said,
“This is a difficult time for
TU and we realize that our
reputation is at stake. … TU is
cooperating fully with officials
from the NCAA to comprehensively
investigate this matter
and bring it to a fair and proper
conclusion.”
Conference uncertainty
The 10-school Mountain
West Conference is believed
to be considering the addition
of two schools, and sources
indicate that TU is viewed as
a viable option for expansion.
There is no apparent timeline
on potential movement, but
TU enters the process without
an athletic director. TU has
been a Conference USA member
since 2005.
Football contracts
It is believed that Parmley
was working to gain university
approval for new contracts
for head football coach Bill
Blankenship (who though
two seasons has 18 victories
and the 2012 C-USA title),
defensive coordinator Brent
Guy (TU leads Conference
USA in total defense) and
offensive line coach Denver
Johnson (whose group allowed
a 13-game total of only nine
sacks while opening holes for a
3,123-yard ground game).
Because other programs
will notice the results that TU
has gotten from coaches like
Blankenship, Guy and Johnson,
movement on new contracts
might be necessary before a
new athletic director is hired.
Indoor practice facility
It is believed also that Parmley
was attempting to finalize
the details of securing funding
for the construction of an
indoor practice facility. When
football coach Bill Blankenship
revealed in July that an indoorfacility
plan was in the works,
he seemed to believe that a
detailed plan and timeline
soon would be finalized. Now,
the status of the project is
uncertain.
Football attendance
While rolling to 10 victories
and the Conference USA
championship, TU ranked 10th
in the league in home football
attendance average. For seven
home dates, Tulsa’s average
of 20,020 ranks as its lowest
since 2004.
For the C-USA championship
game — the Hurricane’s
33-27 overtime triumph over
Central Florida — the H.A.
Chapman Stadium attendance
total was 17,365. It was TU’s
smallest crowd of the season.
There was a bigger crowd for
the Sept. 15 Nicholls State
game (19,139) than for the
Conference USA championship.
Basketball attendance
Former basketball coach
Doug Wojcik was fired this
year in part, Parmley explained,
because of a dramatic
attendance decline. “Since
2005, we have seen a 35 percent
decrease in season-ticket
sales, a 43 percent decrease
in revenue and rapidly growing
apathy among our fan base,”
Parmley said. “Basketball is
expected to be a revenue-producing
sport and a marquee
sport at the University of
Tulsa.”
During the 2011-12 season,
the attendance average at TU’s
8,355-seat Reynolds Center
was 4,423 — the Hurricane’s
lowest since 1979-80. Through
five home dates this season,
the average is 4,554.
Attendance decline
During a 10-win, Conference USA-championship season, the University of Tulsa's home football attendance average was 20,020 - down from 22,541 last season. For last week's Conference USA championship game at H.A. Chapman Stadium, the attendance was only 17,365. The 2012 average was TU's lowest in five seasons since the stadium was renovated. A review of TU's attendance averages since 2000:
2012
Attendance average: 20,020.
Hurricane record: 10-3, C-USA champion.
Note: Attendance average was TU's lowest since 2004.
2011
Attendance average: 22,541.
Hurricane record: 8-5.
2010
Attendance average: 20,379.
Hurricane record: 10-3.
2009
Attendance average: 22,502
Hurricane record: 5-7.
2008
Attendance average: 24,368.
Hurricane record: 11-3.
2007
Attendance average: 24,539.
Hurricane record: 10-4.
2006
Attendance average: 21,364.
Hurricane record: 8-5.
2005
Attendance average: 22,826.
Hurricane record: 9-4, C-USA champion.
2004
Attendance average: 16,906.
Hurricane record: 4-9.
2003
Attendance average: 22,132.
Hurricane record: 8-5.
2002
Attendance average: 18,986.
Hurricane record: 1-11.
2001
Attendance average: 18,509.
Hurricane record: 1-10.
2000
Attendance average: 20,805.
Hurricane record: 5-7.
Conference USA football
Conference USA final 2012 home football attendance averages. Team record in parentheses:
1, East Carolina (8-4): 47,013.
2, Central Florida (9-4): 34,608.
3, UTEP (3-9): 29,374.
4, Houston (5-7): 27,247.
5, Southern Miss (0-12): 25,750.
6, Marshall (5-7): 24,896.
7, Memphis (4-8): 24,371.
8, Rice (6-6): 22,390.
9, SMU (6-6): 21,292.
10, Tulsa (10-3): 20,020.
11, Tulane (2-10): 18,085.
12, UAB (3-9): 15,270.
TU up next: Liberty Bowl
Vs. Iowa State
At Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, Tenn.
2:30 p.m. Dec. 31
TV: ESPN-25
Radio: KRMG am740, fm102.3
Original Print Headline: Ex-ADs: TU an attractive job
Bill Haisten 918-581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com
