Rowan University :
After graduating in 1969 from Glassboro State College, where she captained the field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse teams, Joy Solomen taught basketball in the Philippines, toured Asia as an assistant coach for a U.S. women’s all-star basketball team, and spent five years as Head Women’s Volleyball Coach at Biola University, where her teams consistently finished near the top of the conference standings.
In 1986, she returned to her alma mater, working as the Director of Women’s Athletics until 1993, when she became Director of Athletics. (Glassboro State was renamed Rowan University in 1992.)
Solomen has been active on the state, regional, and national levels of athletic administration and has served as President of the New Jersey Athletic Conference and Chair of the NCAA Division III Management Council. She has also represented Division III on the NCAA Executive Committee, Recruitment Committee, and Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Committee.
Along with being the first woman inducted into the Rowan-Glassboro State Hall of Fame, Solomen has been named NACDA Division III Athletic Director of the Year for the Northeast Region and NACWAA Division III Administrator of the Year. In this interview, she talks about working on the NCAA Management Council, planning for a new athletics facility, and the possibility of a Division III split.
AM: What are the advantages of staying at one institution for two decades?
Solomen: Stability. Loyalty. The ability to give back to a university that gave me a very good education.
If you find a school that’s strong academically and isn’t content to rest on its laurels, you can stay forever. In the 22 years I’ve been working at Rowan, it just keeps getting bigger and better. There are a lot more programs than when I started, and the job has become much more involved.
I actually had no plans to take this job in the first place. I was on campus to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and someone suggested I apply for the job of women’s athletic director. My first response was to laugh, but then I started thinking, “Well, why not?” It was an opportunity to come back home, and it was the right time, so I decided to give it a shot.
Was it hard to leave coaching?
I continued coaching for a year or two after I came back to Rowan, but I felt I really needed to concentrate on administration—trying to run a growing program while coaching and recruiting was just too difficult. At first, there were things I missed about coaching, like the daily interactions with student-athletes and the chance to watch them grow from the time I recruited them to the time they graduated. But now I see a bigger picture, where I get to watch 400 student-athletes mature in their time here. That’s exciting. And instead of having one team, I have 18—plus my coaches, who are like my own personal team.
What are the main issues on your plate these days?
We’ve been working on building a multi-million dollar athletic complex about a mile down the road, and construction will probably begin in early 2009. It started as a small idea, and as the university has grown, so have the plans. It’s going to be another mini-campus, with housing, retail stores, and athletics facilities.
Over the past two years, there have been a lot of meetings. It’s a long process, with a lot of adjustments along the way. We’ve viewed other facilities, talked to their administrators, and tried to learn from their experiences. At one school I visited, they wished they’d put in more seating. Others regretted that locker rooms weren’t bigger. So we’ve incorporated those lessons into our plans, which is going to make our facilities even better than the ones we’ve seen.
What’s your strategy for hiring coaches?
Find the person best able to fit into your program. If you can find someone who will mesh with the philosophy of your department and institution, the wins will take care of themselves.
During the interview, you can tell pretty quickly whether someone is going to fit in just by asking them the right questions: Why do they want the position? Why do they want to leave where they’re currently working? What are their coaching and recruiting philosophies? And what kinds of questions do they have about your program? Then after the interview, I make phone calls to people who can tell me a lot more about that person than what’s on their resume.
Why did you hire a separate coach for women’s track and field instead of having one person coach the men and the women?
It’s a big program with a lot of student-athletes involved. For one person to be responsible for cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track was just too much, especially when they’re handling 50-plus student-athletes at a time. I wanted to make sure everyone was getting the attention they needed and were able to train with their own coach.
After consistently finishing in the top 25 of the NACDA Director’s Cup, Rowan came in 74th last year. Are you concerned that Rowan didn’t do as well as it has in the past?
No. It’s nice to be recognized, but it’s not our major goal. The Director’s Cup has changed a lot since it was the Sears Cup. The numbers now depend more on how many sports you have, so when schools have skiing and wrestling and other sports that we don’t offer, we can’t compete.
When I look at the big picture, I see that our program is doing very well overall. Our main goal is to be successful in the classroom, which is why we honor our student-athletes every year for their academic accomplishments. They’re committed in the classroom, and that translates to athletic success.
How do you foster involvement in the community?
All of our teams do projects in the community, whether they’re working with Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Ronald McDonald House, Relay for Life, or the Special Olympics. It’s extremely important to be active in the community and show people we’re interested in helping any way we can. Our student-athletes have the opportunity to be role models, especially for children who look up to them, and we want people to see our department cares about the community.
What did you learn from serving on the NCAA Management Council?
The experience was phenomenal. When you’re on a national committee like that, you have the opportunity to meet and work with people at every level of collegiate athletics. You get to network, ask questions, and learn about people’s lives. I realized that no matter what division we work in, we all have a lot in common. I was excited to be part of a group that could help affect change. I was also honored that my university would give me time to serve the NCAA.
Would you like the NCAA to split Division III or create a Division IV?
Neither. We’re fine the way we are, and if we grow, Division III can still accommodate that growth. I know people see an increasing number of institutions, and everyone wants access to the championships, but I don’t think we need to divide—not at all.
If universities or conferences choose to be more restrictive than the current NCAA Division III rules and regulations, that’s fine. But too many people spend their time worrying about what somebody else is doing, and it’s just not necessary. The schools can handle themselves.
What can athletic directors learn from your example?
Perseverance. Commitment. If you really want to see your program succeed, you have to be committed to do everything you can.
After 22 years, are you surprised to still be at Rowan?
No. I enjoy my job, and as long as it stays challenging, I’ll be here.