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Along with Connecticut's National Champion women's basketball team, Hathaway recently made the traditional trek to Washington, D.C., to meet President Barack Obama. Hathaway describes the experience as "fantastic" and "a great day," but those words could probably describe the day-to-day effects he's had on the entire Huskies program, which he took over in 2003.

Just this school year, the men's basketball team reached the Final Four, the football team won a bowl game and had a player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft for the first time, the field hockey team and men's soccer team qualified for the NCAA Tournament, and the men's and women's indoor track and field teams won their respective Big East championships.

His current stint in Storrs is not his first at the university, however. Hathaway was also Senior Associate Athletic Director at UConn from 1990-2001, until leaving to become Director of Athletics at Colorado State University. Hathaway also worked eight years in varying capacities at his alma mater, the University of Maryland, as well as in community relations for the Chicago White Sox and public relations for the Washington Redskins.

In this interview, he discusses the challenges of the current economy, building a well-balanced athletic program, and his approach to crisis management.

AM: Did you always hope to return to UConn after you left for Colorado State?
Hathaway: Well, to be honest, it just happened to work out. I thought that once I left, I would probably never have the opportunity to return because the incumbent would still be the athletic director and my career would move in another path. I was fully focused on our mission at Colorado State and very happy there.

Eventually, Lew Perkins resigned to go to the University of Kansas and the president at UConn called me. The president was a person I had worked for and stayed in contact with. When he called me, I was obviously very pleased to hear from him. I put a lot of time and energy into the athletic program at UConn and was very much looking forward to having the opportunity to work here again.

Has your background in public relations and community relations helped you in your current position?
No question. The public relations part is huge. When people ask me what my job entails, I answer with one word: people. With all our constituent groups and all the different people we serve and lead, public relations is a huge part of what we do.

The community relations part has really fit in nicely from the standpoint that I believe our student-athletes, coaches, and staff really need to be involved in both the university community and the off-campus community. We all have a responsibility to give back.

What was your response when the men's basketball team was accused of recruiting violations?
Generally, whenever we have a situation that percolates to the top and may become a challenge for us, we sit down with the coach and other people involved, learn the facts, and assess where we are. Depending on the situation, I might talk to our university relations people on campus as well. I also make sure to plug in our university president and set a course for dealing with the issue.

The challenging thing is there are many situations we can't comment on. For example, if a student-athlete is involved, you're restricted by what you can say because of FERPA. Sometimes there are things we would like to say to help clear those matters up, but we can't because of federal laws or legal proceedings or NCAA proceedings.

Those are difficult times, but part of my job is to keep people's frustration levels low, work through the problem, and do the best we can to resolve it. When you have 650 student-athletes and a couple hundred employees, you're going to have challenges that come up. You want to minimize those, but the key is that when they do arise, you want to keep the necessary people in the loop and bring closure in the best way possible for the university and the individuals involved.

How is UConn dealing with the current economic crisis?
The current economy is certainly affecting all of us and the scarier part is what we don't know. Right now, we are sitting on probably a dozen empty positions that we are taking time to re-fill, and we're utilizing those savings to fulfill our primary mission.

Our academic mission is first and foremost. The academic side, the recruiting side, and anything involving student welfare--athletic trainers, medical attention, anything like that--those are the areas we're really trying to preserve. In one way it's been painful, and in another way it's been very healthy, causing all of us in this business to focus on the budget and really determine how we can be more effective.

What are your thoughts on your women's basketball coach, Geno Auriemma, being pegged as the US Women's National Team's next coach?
To have an Olympic coach in a sport as visible as women's basketball will bring a tremendous amount of attention to our university. It will certainly impact our recruiting in a positive way. What high school recruit wouldn't want to play for Geno? When you throw the title of Olympic coach on top of his credentials, and it becomes even more special.

Geno and I have talked about this, and we're both confident that this will not impact his work at the university in a negative way. He has made it very clear that the University of Connecticut is his primary obligation, but he's also fully focused on winning a gold medal in 2012, and the university supports him 100 percent. It'll be one extra thing on his plate, but it's very doable.

The football program at Connecticut moved to the Football Bowl Subdivision (then Division 1-A) in 2000 and joined the Big East in 2004. How do you account for the quick rise to success?
Ten years ago, we identified and hired an outstanding head coach in Randy Edsall, and he's done a fantastic job for us. He's built a great staff and set a high standard for the student-athletes we recruit. We also had a BCS conference that extended an invitation to us, which was very important.

Our state stepped up in support of football and built a stadium off-campus, which is also used for concerts and a wide range of other sporting events. Subsequently, we built an on-campus football facility and indoor training center that has really been a catalyst for where we are today. An awful lot of credit goes to the university's commitment to support this program and our ability to play football in the Big East conference.

What has been the key to developing an athletic program that goes beyond football and basketball?
A significant part of our success here has been continuity of our staff, and I think that's because the university is a very good place to work. There's been a tremendous transformation of our university since 1995 into a top 25, nationally ranked research institution.

The success of all our programs have played off each other and raised the bar. Everybody here wants to succeed and be part of the success story that we have in our athletic program.

We have three very simple goals for our student-athletes. Earn your UConn degree, compete at the highest level in your sport, and prepare for life after college as a leader in your profession and community. That formula has worked for us, and we have a lot of people who keep the bar very high. We thrive on high expectations.

How do you prepare for your role on the NCAA Division I Tournament Selection Committee?
It is safe to say that from the start of the academic year that job requires constant, day-to-day work. In preseason, you're reading about teams, learning about teams, and talking to people to find out as much as you can about how teams will look in the coming year. You're also planning your own personal schedule of how you can get out and see teams play.

Once the games begin, you're just tracking teams. We have access on a daily basis to an inordinate amount of fresh information--games played the night before, games that day, updated standings, updated records, injury reports, and more. It's more information than anybody could imagine.

How do you keep the focus on academics when your own basketball teams are traveling so much during March?
The most important thing is making sure to hire coaches who understand and appreciate the academic mission of our program. If they don't understand, it's not going to get done. That said, you're still on the road a lot and there are still tough times, so we try to do our best.

We make sure we have some laptops on the road so students can write and do research. We've bring our NCAA faculty representative on the road to proctor exams. We have a very strong academic support department for our student-athletes. We often take an academic support counselor on the road if a team's going to be gone for a prolonged period, so he or she can monitor the work that's being done while we're traveling.

What are you most proud of during your time as UConn's athletic director?
I'm most proud of the credibility and reputation our athletic program has within the university community. People understand that we know where we fit in the university environment. At the same time, people understand our programs provide a national stage for the university as a whole.

People know we have quality coaches, staff, and student-athletes in our program. The culmination of all the good work that is done here each and every day puts our athletic program in a position where it is respected and appreciated for what it brings to the University of Connecticut.

What are your goals for the future?
Academically, we all strive for a 100 percent graduation rate. That's a lofty goal, but everybody wants to meet it.

We have a number of facilities we'd like to renovate, and our next focus is on a men's and women's basketball facility with offices, practice courts, strength and conditioning rooms, and study areas.

How do you maintain balance between your job and personal life?
First and foremost, you've got to be yourself and manage your time. Everybody wants a piece of your time in some way, shape, or form, and there's never enough time from a professional standpoint. You've got to be very diligent and make sure you create time for the family.

More than anything, you have to maximize your efficiency when you are away from the office. You have to use time to be with your family or your friends, or have that quiet time we all need to regroup. It's a very difficult balance to achieve.

Were you in attendance for UConn's six overtime game versus Syracuse at this year's Big East Men's Basketball Tournament?
Unfortunately, I was not. I was sequestered in Indianapolis with the NCAA basketball committee. But we were able to watch, and it was unbelievable. People were fading off. That was a long night, but an incredible night. One of the great games in basketball history.

Mike Phelps is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management.