WAC Commissioner Hurd to Step Down at End of 2021

DENVER - Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Jeff Hurd announced today he will step down from his position at the end of December. He will be concluding 10 years as Commissioner and 37 years overall with the WAC within a 50-year professional career.

"Jeff Hurd has done a remarkable job in leading the WAC to its current status. We are grateful to him for putting the WAC in the position of a very promising future as a conference," said outgoing Chair of the WAC Board of Directors, Fr. Stephen Sundborg, S.J. "The debt of gratitude to him of our thirteen member schools is immense. As we look to his successor as Commissioner, we will build on the legacy of what he has dedicated himself to over many years. His service to this conference is unparalleled."

Hurd has been associated with the WAC for well more than half of its existence. He originally joined the staff in August of 1985 as the Director of Conference Relations and served in several capacities before he replaced former Commissioner Karl Benson on an interim basis in March 2012. A little more than one year later, Hurd was named Benson's full-time replacement.

"The cliché is all good things come to an end," said Hurd, "and this is no exception. I remember my first day in the office literally like it was yesterday and cannot fathom it was closer to four decades ago."

WACSports

Hurd was heavily criticized for being selected because he was a Benson “lackey”. He was further criticized for not being able to pull teams from stable conferences, which at the time was very unrealistic. He did an outstanding job and he “left it better than he found it”.

I want to see a real search this time for his replacement. I'm sure Ron Loghry's ( https://wacsports.com/information/direct...y?view=bio ) name will be kicked around. I think it would be good to bring in someone a bit younger.

(07-07-2021 12:19 PM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  Hurd was heavily criticized for being selected because he was a Benson “lackey”. He was further criticized for not being to pull teams from stable conferences, which at the time was very unrealistic. He did an outstanding job and he “left it better than he found it”.

+100000

(07-07-2021 12:19 PM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  Hurd was heavily criticized for being selected because he was a Benson “lackey”. He was further criticized for not being to pull teams from stable conferences, which at the time was very unrealistic. He did an outstanding job and he “left it better than he found it”.

He gave us MUCK aka UMKC. He promised them they would get to host the basketball tournament. All we got out of UMKC was a bunch of cry babies and unruly fans. Lets not forget how they exited the conference. Announcing June 20th 2020 "FYI we are leaving in 11 days."

(07-07-2021 02:45 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

(07-07-2021 12:19 PM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  Hurd was heavily criticized for being selected because he was a Benson “lackey”. He was further criticized for not being to pull teams from stable conferences, which at the time was very unrealistic. He did an outstanding job and he “left it better than he found it”.

He gave us MUCK aka UMKC. He promised them they would get to host the basketball tournament. All we got out of UMKC was a bunch of cry babies and unruly fans. Lets not forget how they exited the conference. Announcing June 20th 2020 "FYI we are leaving in 11 days."

Shouldn’t a UMKC fan be upset about that? He did a good job of convincing them to leave the Summit and join when they did. It didn’t really work out for either the WAC or them, and they left. No damage occurred from them leaving. Hurd was smart by not giving them the tournament and possibly losing Vegas for 2 poorly attended tournaments in KC.

UMKC helped keep the WAC at the minimum while we transitioned to where we are now. Glad they joined, glad they’re gone. Still a good job by Hurd of getting them to come.

(07-07-2021 02:55 PM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(07-07-2021 02:45 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

(07-07-2021 12:19 PM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  Hurd was heavily criticized for being selected because he was a Benson “lackey”. He was further criticized for not being to pull teams from stable conferences, which at the time was very unrealistic. He did an outstanding job and he “left it better than he found it”.

He gave us MUCK aka UMKC. He promised them they would get to host the basketball tournament. All we got out of UMKC was a bunch of cry babies and unruly fans. Lets not forget how they exited the conference. Announcing June 20th 2020 "FYI we are leaving in 11 days."

Shouldn’t a UMKC fan be upset about that? He did a good job of convincing them to leave the Summit and join when they did. It didn’t really work out for either the WAC or them, and they left. No damage occurred from them leaving. Hurd was smart by not giving them the tournament and possibly losing Vegas for 2 poorly attended tournaments in KC.

UMKC helped keep the WAC at the minimum while we transitioned to where we are now. Glad they joined, glad they’re gone. Still a good job by Hurd of getting them to come.

+10000000000

Wow—what a lengthy career with the WAC. He was around before, during, and after the WAC-16.

He was around for Tulsa and the Texas schools leaving for C-USA and the 2010-2014 Realignment too.

Hurd did a remarkable job bringing the conference back from the brink of oblivion to a position of stability with a promising future. Certainly it was unexpected when he assumed the commissioner title from Benson. Fortunately he didn’t believe the naysayers.

I believe he did a great job, given the circumstances while he was Commish. Not everyone is going to agree with that, but that's OK.

What do we want to see in any new Commish? Personally, I would like to see someone with established ties to media outlets that can help build the brand as the conference gets stronger. Someone who can take sell the positives of this conference.

GO AGGIES!!!!

(07-07-2021 04:00 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  Hurd did a remarkable job bringing the conference back from the brink of oblivion to a position of stability with a promising future. Certainly it was unexpected when he assumed the commissioner title from Benson. Fortunately he didn’t believe the naysayers.

I've always been fascinated by the reinvention of the WAC.

Hurd was a miracle worker. Sure it took time, and a membership in flux for awhile, but the way he filled out the footprint was genius.

The WAC now has one of the better footprints in college sports.

Even Seattle, is a good fit with this membership because they help foster the image that the WAC is still a national conference. Having a presence in California with CBU is also important from that optics standpoint.

Those two schools are important stars in the constellation for the WACs future growth potential. If there is another addition, my hope its another Big Sky program.

Hurd looked like a genius when ACU advanced in the dance and SHSU won the FCS natty.

(07-07-2021 05:16 PM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  

(07-07-2021 04:00 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  Hurd did a remarkable job bringing the conference back from the brink of oblivion to a position of stability with a promising future. Certainly it was unexpected when he assumed the commissioner title from Benson. Fortunately he didn’t believe the naysayers.

I've always been fascinated by the reinvention of the WAC.

Hurd was a miracle worker. Sure it took time, and a membership in flux for awhile, but the way he filled out the footprint was genius.

The WAC now has one of the better footprints in college sports.

Even Seattle, is a good fit with this membership because they help foster the image that the WAC is still a national conference. Having a presence in California with CBU is also important from that optics standpoint.

Those two schools are important stars in the constellation for the WACs future growth potential. If there is another addition, my hope its another Big Sky program.

Hurd looked like a genius when ACU advanced in the dance and SHSU won the FCS natty.

Excellent post.

I'd take him over Karl any day. Mr Peanut was ok, but Hurd was way, way better.

Getting even one team from the Big Sky is the best victory for Hurd because of the history there.

I doubt he'll be inviting Doug Fullerton to his retirement party. Yes, Fullerton/BSC still bother me

(07-07-2021 07:28 PM)Todor Wrote:  I'd take him over Karl any day. Mr Peanut was ok, but Hurd was way, way better.

Getting even one team from the Big Sky is the best victory for Hurd because of the history there.

I doubt he'll be inviting Doug Fullerton to his retirement party. Yes, Fullerton/BSC still bother me

Wasn't he supposed to bring the Big Sky to FBS?

(07-07-2021 05:20 PM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  

(07-07-2021 05:16 PM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  

(07-07-2021 04:00 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  Hurd did a remarkable job bringing the conference back from the brink of oblivion to a position of stability with a promising future. Certainly it was unexpected when he assumed the commissioner title from Benson. Fortunately he didn’t believe the naysayers.

I've always been fascinated by the reinvention of the WAC.

Hurd was a miracle worker. Sure it took time, and a membership in flux for awhile, but the way he filled out the footprint was genius.

Excellent post.

Agreed!

I was thinking about what totally opposite situations Benson and Hurd had.

In a way, once the WAC reached 16, it had nowhere to go but down. And when the WAC was just down to the bare minimum, it had nowhere to go but up. Each have their own set of challenges. And no matter how well a person can manage either situation, they were both at the mercy of a lot of outside forces.

Looking back, they both did good jobs considering what they were up against, but Jeff's perseverance and management of such a disparate group of schools and keeping us together and constantly moving forward was one hell of a task.

(07-07-2021 08:39 PM)Bobcat2013 Wrote:  

(07-07-2021 07:28 PM)Todor Wrote:  I'd take him over Karl any day. Mr Peanut was ok, but Hurd was way, way better.

Getting even one team from the Big Sky is the best victory for Hurd because of the history there.

I doubt he'll be inviting Doug Fullerton to his retirement party. Yes, Fullerton/BSC still bother me

Wasn't he supposed to bring the Big Sky to FBS?

That’s what he told the university presidents who were foolish enough to believe him.

One of the most satisfying things about Hurd’s rebuilding success is that it’s utterly thwarted Fullerton’s plan to murder the WAC.

(07-07-2021 11:36 PM)Todor Wrote:  I was thinking about what totally opposite situations Benson and Hurd had.

In a way, once the WAC reached 16, it had nowhere to go but down. And when the WAC was just down to the bare minimum, it had nowhere to go but up. Each have their own set of challenges. And no matter how well a person can manage either situation, they were both at the mercy of a lot of outside forces.

Looking back, they both did good jobs considering what they were up against, but Jeff's perseverance and management of such a disparate group of schools and keeping us together and constantly moving forward was one hell of a task.

Agreed

Dude deserves a medal when looking at where the WAC was and where they are now

So, I guess the question of the hiring of Ron Loghry away from the Big Sky makes more sense if Hurd was grooming him to be his predecessor.

(07-08-2021 11:20 AM)BlueDragon Wrote:  So, I guess the question of the hiring of Ron Loghry away from the Big Sky makes more sense if Hurd was grooming him to be his predecessor.

If the WAC wants FBS in the future I'd hire an admin from a P5 league who has connections with the big boys.