If you think you oversee a lot of athletic teams at your institution, John Creer probably has you beat. As Athletic Director at Lindenwood University, he is in charge of 44 programs, many of which are successful—and some of which are off the beaten path.

Along with a football team that advanced to the semifinals of the NAIA championships last fall, Lindenwood's men's roller hockey team has won seven consecutive national titles, and the dance team defended its national hip hop crown in January. Both the men's wrestling and menís indoor track and field teams have brought home national championships in recent years.

Lindenwood sponsors shooting sports, cycling, water polo, bowling, and cheerleading. The synchronized swim team competed in its first competition in January and men's and women's table tennis squads took up paddles this year. Lindenwood also offers a long list of traditional sports.

The former Head Coach of men's and women's track and field at Lindenwood, Creer has coached at Missouri Baptist, Wayland Baptist, Florida, and Troy, and with the Saudi Arabian national team in the late 1970s. In this interview, he discusses Lindenwood's expansive athletic department, competing at the NAIA level, and his unique method of budgeting.

AM: Why does Lindenwood sponsor so many sports?
Creer: The philosophy at Lindenwood is that athletics fits hand-in-hand with educating the entire person. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to compete at the intercollegiate level in the sport of their choice, just like they have the opportunity to pick their particular field of study.

We see athletics not as an expense, but as a revenue generator. Athletes have to live on campus, so we fill a lot of rooms at the university. That was key in moving the school toward a more residential campus and helping it grow. It's not as necessary now, but at one point student-athletes made up 75 percent of the resident population. Today it's about 35 percent.

Why have you added so many "off-beat" sports, like roller hockey, dance, and cycling?
All the new programs were generated by student interest. We tell those who are interested in a new sport to bring us a proposal. They need to identify the sport's potential, where we'd compete, who we'd compete against, the anticipated cost to establish the program, and the benefits to Lindenwood. If the students present the information well, we make a decision about whether to add another sport.

How do you find enough space for all your teams?
We've been very fortunate to find just about everything that we need facilities-wise. For example, when we were getting ready to start our ice hockey program, there was a rink being sold about 20 miles away, so we bought it. That became our home rink and we rent space and time there. We also have an Olympic-level swimming and diving facility nearby, and there's a roller hockey facility just a few miles away—roller hockey is very big in this area.

We use our gym and stadium to their fullest, making sure coaches share the space equally. When we started table tennis, for example, we wanted to do that in the gym, but the space was already crammed with volleyball, wrestling, and basketball. We asked all the coaches to work together to develop practice and competition times themselves.

We don't have any in-house fighting. In fact, our coaches look out for one another. Football doesn't claim to be king. They give and take just like everybody else. Field hockey has just as much opportunity as football does.

What have you done to develop that atmosphere in your department?
A lot of it has to do with getting the right people for the right jobs, then really promoting the Lindenwood philosophy that we all work together. Many of our policies and procedures force us to be one large team. For example, coaches don't have their own budgets. They have to manage their program, then I inspect and verify.

I expect each of my coaches to create a competitive schedule that they would like and submit it to me with the anticipated costs and an explanation for why they want the schedule to be that way. Then they do the same thing with equipment, supplies, uniforms, and so forth.

Once I meet with the Vice President for Operations and she approves everything, the coaches are authorized to go ahead with their requests. So rather than give each coach a budget to work under, if they can justify why something is important and it's approved, whatever the cost, it's covered by the university.

Most coaches are used to having a budget for their team and scrutinizing it to make sure they come out even, so what we do is very different. At first, new coaches are not sure what they can or can't do. But every coach here would say they wouldn't exchange this format for anything else now that they're used to it, because they only have to submit and justify their requests one time, and then they don't have to worry about anything.

What is the difference between running successful programs in the NAIA and the NCAA?
One of the biggest problems that NAIA schools face is covering expenses for postseason competition. If a team makes the postseason in the NCAA, the association pays those expenses, whereas the NAIA does not. The NAIA is trying to cover some costs in football, and our conference helps out with expenses for basketball, but that is one area that we struggle with in the NAIA.

Some schools leave the NAIA for that reason, but their teams don't make the NCAA playoffs. They lose out on reaching the postseason and they've shot themselves in the foot.

Still, it's no secret that we consistently lose schools to the NCAA. Part of the reason they give is that nobody has heard of the NAIA, so athletes think they need to be in the NCAA. At Lindenwood, we know that's not accurate. We have not had any problem with recruiting.

Has Lindenwood ever contemplated switching to the NCAA?
About five years ago, we applied to NCAA Division III, but that didn't even last a year. The president at the time said he didn't want an organization tell him how to run his school, so we pulled out. We're pretty content in the NAIA.

Do your coaches feel the same way?
Our coaches really buy into the message of the NAIA. If a coach is simply using the NAIA as a stepping stone, it may be a problem. Our football coach, Patrick Ross, had an extremely successful year—the team made it to the national semifinals and lost by one point. I know other schools are looking at him, but he feels a commitment to Lindenwood and the NAIA. That doesn't mean he'll never move on, but he's sold on what we do as a university and provide for student-athletes.

What does the NAIA's "Champions of Character" program mean to you and Lindenwood University?
Its five core values are respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership, and sportsmanship. We work hard to follow them. The message we want to send is that in the NAIA, we strive for excellence, but it's tempered by doing things the right way. That makes our end-goals very clear.

How has Lindenwood adapted to the slumping economy?
We're very fortunate that the impact has not yet hit us as negatively as it has many other schools. But we have taken some steps to prepare. I've asked coaches to not request any luxuries. And we're requesting teams take meals with them to away games. Coaches are also looking for cheaper hotel rooms. We're trying to be as proactive as we can—we don't want to wait until we have problems.

What is the Sports Performance Counseling Service?
We have a young man here who is doing his master's degree work in counseling athletes. For several years, he has been assisting our football program. It's mostly motivational, but if somebody has some problems, the coaches allow him to work with the athletes.

We recently expanded this to all our athletic programs, especially from a motivational standpoint. Some coaches make use of it, and some don't. I leave that decision to each coach.

You are overseeing the new athletic program at Lindenwood-Belleville, a satellite campus. How is that going?
One of the initial problems was that we wanted the program to join the NAIA, but there are a few more hoops to jump through. For a while, we considered operating at the club level. Then someone recommended the United States Collegiate Athletic Association, whose purpose is to service small colleges that are just starting athletic programs. That's a good fit for us, and we'll look at requesting NAIA membership down the road.

Initially, Belleville will only have men's and women's soccer, then we'll try to add basketball and volleyball next year. We hope to add several sports each year.

Lindenwood hosted the NAIA Swimming and Diving Championships this year and will do so again in 2010. What are the challenges?
Ensuring you have the staff and support from the university. We had numerous meetings to make sure everything was arranged properly. The logistics can be daunting when you first look at it, but it's mostly a matter of delegating responsibilities.

We find hosting very beneficial. We make money from it and it's an advantage for our team to compete in our home facility. Our athletes don't have to travel and we receive more fan support.

You have been inducted into four different halls of fame. What does that mean to you?
It means that I was able to fulfill my purpose, which has always been to help others. It feels good to know that my peers recognize that. That is more important than anything else. Being inducted at so many schools means Iíve left something at each institution.

Do you have any specific goals for the future? At 62 years old, is retirement on the horizon?
I don't know what I'd do if I retired. I'd probably get a little bored. I enjoy what I'm doing. It's time consuming and involves a lot of energy, but it's well worth it when I see the results. I'm just really excited about what's happening here.