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In article that appeared in the Dayton Daily News, former University of Dayton Athletic Director Ted Kissell talks about the life changes he's gone through since recently vacating his position after 16 years on the job. He will remain a Dayton vice president into June and plans to teach a business class at the school in the fall.

In a wide-ranging interview, Kissell describes how he overcame a rocky start at Dayton, where he was considered an outsider at first, before taking the program to new heights. He says many coaches and staffers had trouble relating to his candid, shoot-from-the-hip style. He describes his initial reception as "brutal." It "wasn't that anybody was overtly unpleasant," Kissell told the Daily News, it was just that "there was no question I was unwelcome.

"I remember when I spoke in front of the staff that first time, there were these stony faces, that stony silence," he said. "And when I finished, I got just one question, one I'll never forget: 'Who are you to lead us?'''

Dayton Daily News Writer Tom Archdeacon writes that in the years that followed, Kissell demonstrated exactly what kind of leader he was. Under his watch, programs such as the men's basketball team were put back on the map and Flyer student-athletes picked up their academic pace—last year's program 3.21 GPA was the best in school history. And during Kissell's tenure, Dayton's facilities experienced a $30 million upgrade.

Athletic Management congratulates Kissell on his accomplishments and contributions to the collegiate athletics landscape and wishes him good luck in his future endeavors.

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The nation's economic crisis has more than a few athletic departments scrambling to survive. In this article, Paul Kowalczyk, Athletic Director at Colorado State University, talks about meeting fiscal challenges that have arrived on the heels of recent budget increases the department made for football and men's and women's basketball that went into effect before the downturn.

Along with hiring new coaches for those sports, Colorado State broke ground in August on a $13 million indoor practice facility for football that also will include basketball and volleyball courts, and a $7 million academic training center and weight room. According to the Coloradoan, about $2.5 million has been raised so far to pay for the new facilities, which were funded through a $20 million bond. Kowalczyk said additional commitments have been made to the project, but many donors are waiting for the financial markets to stabilize before pledging specific amounts.

"We still have some folks who are committed to helping us, but they can't determine to what extent," Kowalczyk told the Coloradoan. "And we certainly are understanding of that."

However, Kowalczyk is optimistic that Colorado State will be able to weather the storm. "Programs that have tradition and sustained excellence don't seem to be negatively effected by the current economy," he told the Coloradoan, "and I think if we continue to show improvement and have success, people will respond."

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Congratulations go out to Chip Salvestrini, Athletic Director at Danbury (Conn.) High School, who was recently named Athletic Director of the Year by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association. Quick to share the accolades, Salvestrini says the award is a tribute to his entire staff.

"I don't win this award without good people here," Salvestrini told the News-Times. "We have strong administrators, good coaches. If this is an MVP award, I win it because I have a great offensive line in front of me."

Now in his 29th year as an athletic director, Salvestrini has been at Danbury for eight years. He is proud of what his program has accomplished despite limited resources.

"We have a program that does a lot with a little," he told the News-Times. "We're not as heavily funded as some of the lower Fairfield County schools, but we're able to compete."

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Former Burlington (Wisc.) Catholic Central High School Athletic Director and Boys' Basketball Coach Paul Deacon was recently dismissed from his positions after being convicted of felony theft in a Brown County Circuit Court. He faces up to 3½ years in prison after being convicted of stealing $10,928 from the athletic department at Bay Port (Wisc.) High School, where he worked from 1996-2004.

In an odd twist, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that following Deacon's dismissal it was announced that his son, Tyrone Deacon—who is in his first year out of college—will assume his father's basketball coaching duties at Burlington Catholic.

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Andy Geiger certainly made his share of successful coaching hires during his time as an NCAA Division I athletic director. From Jack Elway, Dennis Green, and Tara VanDerveer at Stanford University, to Jim Tressel at Ohio State University, Geiger, now retired and living in Port Angeles, Wash., certainly has the resume and experience when it comes to finding talented leaders.

These days, Geiger is lending that expertise to Port Angeles High School as he helps the school search for a new head football coach and chairs the interview committee. What's he looking for?

"Good fundamentals, creative concepts offensively and defensively, and great execution—that's what you look for [in a coach]," Geiger told the Peninsula Daily News. "I don't care what level you are at, it will work."

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After 18 years at the helm of the South Dakota State athletic program, Athletic Director Fred Oien is stepping down from his position effective April 8. It will be the end of a career that has spanned three decades at SDSU.

Having just completed a five-year transition to the NCAA Division I level in September, Oien felt it was time for both he and the university to move on.

"I just know this is the right time for me to step down," Oien, told the Argus Leader. "I've been in conversations with (SDSU president David Chicoine) for over a year, discussing timing and all that. It's just the right time for me."

Oien's legacy has been cemented by the program's successful jump to Division I. In less than five years since leaving NCAA Division II, the school has won league titles in football, volleyball, soccer, women's cross country, and women's basketball. During that time, athletic scholarships have more than doubled and now exceed 200.

"He had a real vision, and he went against what so many people thought about the whole Division I move," SDSU Men's Basketball Coach Scott Nagy told the Argus Leader. "He went through with it because he saw the landscape, he saw how things were changing and we were ahead of the curve.

"I think it put South Dakota State on a lot better footing, and we all appreciate the fact that he was willing to take a chance. He's the one that had to worry about everything and take a lot of the heat—and he was willing to do it. And I'm glad he did."

R.J. Anderson is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management.