Mike Alden
Athletic Director
University of Missouri
NCAA Division I
There are four schools in the University of Missouri system, and each has a chancellor, one of whom I report to. He in turn reports to a president who oversees all four of the schools. The chancellor and I meet once a month for an hour, though we meet more frequently if the need arises. We have a mutually set agenda agreed upon before our meeting that addresses each of our concerns and issues--anything from the idea of a new facility to an update on one in progress.

I also sit on the chancellor's staff, so every Tuesday for two hours, nine of us and the chancellor discuss anything pertinent to campus life, athletics included. That's how all of us have communicated for the nine years I've been here, and it really has kept athletics involved and ingrained as part of the fabric of this institution. I also meet quarterly with the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee and at least once a year with the faculty council.

Sometimes you need to remind yourself that the most important thing is the institution, not the athletic department. Meeting with these groups shows you're sensitive to the issues that impact the entire university. We are just one component of a team, just like each athlete is one part of their team.

Page Cotton
Director of Athletics, Director of Recreational Sports, Professor, Head Men's Soccer Coach
DePauw University
NCAA Division III
I meet weekly with the vice president for student services and the rest of his staff. Then he and I have a standing weekly appointment that we may or may not keep, depending on our needs. If a very sensitive issue needs to be discussed, I'll wait for the face-to-face meeting, but if it's just a matter of updating him, I'll pick up the phone or send a message through his administrative assistant.

As a full professor, I'm definitely in the loop in terms of faculty governance. I've served on various faculty committees over the years--international education, scholastic standing--and that's been a great way to keep athletics and academics in balance. One of my most important jobs is to make sure the DePauw community views athletics as part of the total experience package our students have here. But I also need to make sure that our faculty knows we as coaches and athletic administrators understand that academics is the most important element.

Steve Ridder
Director of Athletics, Head Men's Basketball Coach
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
NAIA Division II
I used to meet with the chancellor twice a month, but now we meet monthly in his cabinet meetings and as need-be in between. It was getting to the point where everybody had so many meetings and they were running too long. With only one group meeting and more one-on-one time as we need it, I'm able to keep up on the different areas I'm not directly involved in--registration, housing, student life, and not spend all my time in meetings.

I try to be a great teammate with those people. Sometimes we athletic directors live in our own world with tunnel vision. A question I put forth to our staff and myself everyday is: Are we making decisions in the best interest of our entire university? Obviously we want to enhance our own programs, but you have to have a feel for the big picture. If the athletic department was making decisions based solely on our own agenda, we wouldn't encourage anybody else to request the use of our facilities. Yet, we have graduations, career expos, and conferences in our arena because it's good for the students and faculty, and it makes a community connection. You have to wake up some days and instead of asking what can be done for you, ask what you can do for somebody else.

Cheryl Levick
Athletics Director
St. Louis University
NCAA Division I
I have a minimum of a one-hour meeting with the provost, our second-in-command here, every other week. If we need to speak more than that, we just pick up the phone. And I'm lucky in that he attends many of our athletic events, which helps us keep up to date. We get together to meet with the president at least once a semester and as needed before a conference or NCAA vote.

At every institution I've worked, I always make sure that I work on one of the senior committees on campus. Here, I am a member of a committee of directors and deans. All of the directors and deans on campus, who all report to the provost as I do, get together once a month for two-and-a-half hours. We get input from each other, take votes, and talk about academic and student issues and how they relate. Being on that committee connects me more than anything else.

From the minute you walk on campus, it's important to be viewed as an integral part of the educational mission. Get yourself on the appropriate committees, volunteer, and take any opportunity to be a member of the university outside of the athletic department. It lets people see who you are and that you're not only about athletics, but about education too.

Larry Mortensen
Athletic Director, Head Men's Basketball Coach
Adams State College
NCAA Division II
I answer directly to the president of the college, and I see him every week. Every Monday I meet with the cabinet, which includes the president, provost, and the auxiliary and academic department heads. It's a really good opportunity to monitor campus-wide issues. Our student-athletes are part of the rest of campus too, so I need to know what might be going on that affects them outside of practice.

We also meet, just the president and myself, every other week to discuss specific athletics-related issues. He's very proactive when it comes to athletics, but not authoritarian. He defers to me and our compliance officer on most issues and attends our athletic conference's monthly meetings. Just as he is open to my ideas, I try to not be narrow-minded when it comes to dealing with campus-wide issues. If I pay attention to others' issues, when something athletics-related comes up, I'm more likely to be heard.

Joan Sitterly
Director of Athletics
State University of New York College at Cortland
NCAA Division III
At most Division III institutions the athletic director reports to the vice president of student affairs, but here I report to the provost and vice president of academic affairs. We meet every two weeks as a group and once a month with the president. Those aren't the only times we're in contact, though. I also send quick e-mails between meetings if there's an issue that arises in the mean time.

Any conference or NCAA issues always involve the president--we sit down and discuss how we'll cast Cortland's vote for any NCAA legislation. There are times when we don't all agree at those meetings, so the president makes the final decision. Sometimes you need to know when to cut your losses as an athletic director. You need to identify which battles to fight and which ones to surrender and just let go.

So that I don't get isolated I make it a point to serve on as many committees across campus as possible. This allows students and faculty to see me, which I think is very important, and also keeps me abreast of what's going on outside of our department. I report on this to our coaches and directors.

Dick Baddour
Athletic Director
University of North Carolina
NCAA Division I
The chancellor and I meet frequently, sometimes every week if there are issues going on. But normally they're catch-up meetings, which are once a month or every six weeks. I also serve on his cabinet along with the vice chancellor for student affairs, the provost, legal counsel, etc. We meet twice a month, which makes it easy for me to keep up on non-athletics related issues. I also take opportunities in meetings or when we're traveling together to get in a quick question or discuss anything on my mind.

Our chancellor has been involved with the NCAA on some major issues, and that is helpful to me at the local level. He was recently on a special task force that Myles Brand put together to look at eligibility issues, and he co-authored a section of the NCAA's report. He has a really good grasp on the issues that we face in college athletics, and that's great for us.

Jeffrey Martinez
Director of Athletics, Director of Physical Education
University of Redlands
NCAA Division III
On our university's flow chart, the director of athletics reports to the vice president of student life. But I have access to the president if and when necessary. Because I am also director of physical education, I report to the vice president of academic affairs in that capacity. When it comes to our facilities or any major project, I report to the vice president for business and finance. I am spread around quite a bit, but that helps me keep in touch with everything that's happening on campus.

I'm fortunate that athletics is an important part of what we do here, with 25 percent of students participating. I don't have the challenge as some of my colleagues do to sell the benefits of intercollegiate athletics. Our president, chancellor, several vice presidents, and faculty members will be at Wednesday afternoon soccer games and Saturday morning water polo matches, not just at football games. To an extent, every department is in the loop on every other department's goings on, and everyone is supportive of each other's interests.

Herb Reinhard
Athletic Director
Valdosta State University
NCAA Division II
I'm a senior member of the president's cabinet, so I have a great deal of contact with him. Some weeks, I meet with him several times, and other weeks I may only see him once for an hour or two during a cabinet meeting. It varies each month.

Being on his cabinet is a great way to stay in the loop on campus-wide issues. If an athletic director does not have the opportunity to be involved in a cabinet-level meeting on a regular basis, I would strongly urge them to take the time to meet with various vice presidents. Even if it's nothing more than 30 minutes and has nothing to with athletics, it's important just to find out what's going on in other departments.

Nancy Meyer
Women's Athletic Director, Professor
Calvin College
NCAA Division III
About 90 percent of our coaches, myself included, are faculty members and that widens my perspective as an athletic director. I'm able to keep up on campus-wide issues easily because I'm already involved as a professor.

Another reason it's easy for me to keep up on non-athletic issues is because the athletic department is housed under academics. As an athletic director I report to our department chair and an academic dean and ultimately the provost. We try to head off any problems within the athletic department first, but also keep others in the loop. For instance, if I have communication with a parent of a student-athlete about an issue, I always cc the dean. That way, if they get a call from the parent, they already have the background information from me.

I also meet with our president, who is very involved in our league, a couple of times each school year. It's unusual for presidents to be as involved as those in our league are. But it's great because when we meet about league or NCAA issues, it's easy to converse with him and come to quick decisions.