Posted on Tue, Sep. 06, 2005
Athletic director winning hearts
BOWEN CLEANING UP PROGRAM, RAISING PROFILE AT SJSU
By Jon Wilner
Mercury News
For anyone wondering what the regime change has meant for San Jose State sports, Saturday provided the best example.
Athletic Director Tom Bowen bopped around Spartan Stadium with the glow of a new father, entertaining boosters and reveling in the victory over Eastern Washington. His toughest challenge was to refrain from cheering in the press box.
Contrast that to the scene from Opening Day '04, when Bowen's predecessor, Chuck Bell, stood ashen-faced at Stanford Stadium and explained that for the fourth consecutive year, breakdowns in SJSU's academic certification system had rendered players ineligible.
The annual certification problems came to symbolize all that was wrong with the floundering football program; try as they might, the Spartans just couldn't get it right. Bowen made fixing the system a priority when he took command of the department in December.
“No way was it going to happen on my watch,''' he said.
One player was academically ineligible Saturday, starting defensive tackle Anthony Flores. But his situation had nothing to do with the system put in place by Bowen and associate vice president/academic services Marshall Rose.
They expanded the academic services staff from two to six, ordered weekly meetings and hired Cindy Kato to serve as the liaison between athletics and academics. Kato arrived from Minnesota, where she helped the Gophers recover from a devastating academic scandal that cost men's basketball coach Clem Haskins his job. At SJSU, she works with athletes, coaches, faculty, compliance director Etienne Thomas, the admissions office and the registrar's office to make sure athletes in all sports remain academically eligible.
“Usually by our first game, half the kids are in street clothes,'' men's soccer coach Gary St. Clair said. “But this year, there was only one, and that was because he was an out-of-state kid. There are professional people in the right positions.''
Cleaning up the certification mess is just one of Bowen's victories during his first year on the job. With the support of President Don Kassing, he has improved fundraising, plowed more money into non-revenue sports and fostered optimism at the corner of Seventh and Alma.
“I've been around the program for 12 years, and I've gotten to know a lot of key players in the athletic department and the Spartan faithful,'' Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson said. “They were at the point of being discouraged, but Tom has won back a large share. There's an infectious style about him.''
After hiring football coach Dick Tomey, Bowen, 44, began restructuring the athletic department. He doubled the number of staff positions responsible for generating revenue and hired Mark Harlan from Arizona as senior associate athletic director for external operations (i.e., fundraising and marketing). Then Bowen and Harlan created a comprehensive development office that focuses on everything from annual giving and major gifts to endowment and legacy giving.
According to Bowen and Harlan, the Spartans raised $1.1 million for scholarships in the first eight months of 2005, compared with $660,000 in all of '04. Bowen also secured a commitment from boosters to donate $200,000 annually for “The Coach's Circle,'' which goes to the assistant football coaches' salary pool.
“We are ramping it up to what a Division I program should look like,'' Bowen said.
The fundraising, combined with additional funds approved by Kassing, has enabled Bowen to funnel more money to non-revenue sports. For example, men's soccer received $500 annually for recruiting from the Bell administration. (Whatever else St. Clair needed, he had to raise himself.) But under Bowen, that figure has increased to $3,500. Bowen has also allowed St. Clair to play eight home games at Spartan Stadium, compared with four under Bell.
“It's the best it's been since I've been here,'' said St. Clair, who is entering his 16th season as coach. “It's the way it's done at UCLA and Stanford and Cal. The most important thing about Tom Bowen is that he gets it.''
Bowen changed the primary logo to the image of a Spartan warrior holding a spear, because it says “San Jose State,'' which allows recruits to identify the school. (SJSU paid Host Communications $50,000 to design the logo several years ago, then rarely used it.)
He is in the process of signing an all-sports deal with Nike in which SJSU will receive some complimentary uniforms and others at a deep discount.
Bowen moved the football and men's basketball games to the same radio station, KNTS-AM (1220). (In the past, football was on KLIV-AM (1590) and basketball was on KSJS, the student station.)
He spent $100,000 for two football games (Hawaii and Idaho) and the weekly Dick Tomey Show to be broadcast on Comcast Sports Net, which is on digital cable in the Bay Area and regular cable in the Central Valley. “It enables us to leverage our corporate partners,'' Harlan said. “We've already made the money back.''
And for the first time in nine years, the football team will be on network television. The Oct. 1 date with Nevada at Spartan Stadium is scheduled for ABC.
“Chuck Bell thought TV hurt attendance; Tom thinks TV helps grow the product,'' said Mike Chisholm, the voice of the Spartans on radio and assistant athletic director for broadcasting. “You have to spend money to make money, but you also have to spend money to help the image.''
But Bowen's greatest challenge has nothing to do with TV deals or raising money. It's changing the culture within an athletic department that has endured years of losing, budget cuts and eligibility gaffes.
“He wants trophies and he wants academics,'' Chisholm said. “And he backs it up. He sticks his head in your office and says, `I got your back all day and every day,' and he expects the same of you. There isn't a person over here who isn't excited.''
Bowen has taken his approach on the road, too.
“He has made some bold statements at WAC meetings,'' Benson said. “He says San Jose State is tired of bringing up the rear, and he expects their sports to win WAC championships.''
Contact Jon Wilner at jwilner@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5716
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