Univ. of Minnesota AD Joel Maturi Thursday announced that he will step down from his position on June 30, leaving behind a "decidedly mixed legacy," according to Phil Miller of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Maturi will take a "special assistant's position -- at his current $351,900 base salary -- to raise funds for athletic needs, teach a class or two and help ease the transition for his successor." Maturi in '02 "took over a department -- two of them, actually -- engulfed in turmoil, divided by gender and rancor and reeling from the dishonor of NCAA scandal, and birthed a unified, relatively tranquil and sanction-free athletic program, with all 25 sports intact." He inherited a campus that "farmed out its signature athletic events" to the Metrodome, and "replaced it with a transformative jewel of a football stadium." The funding and construction of TCF Bank Stadium was "perhaps his preeminent accomplishment." But Maturi also "oversaw football and basketball programs that seemed to specialize in disappointment and dysfunction." His record is "sullied by the clumsy firings of football coach Glen Mason and men's basketball coach Dan Monson, revenue sports that posted winning Big Ten records only once apiece during the decade and the resulting declining attendance in each, and the disastrous anointment of inexperienced football coach Tim Brewster" in '07 (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/3). In St. Paul, Brian Murphy writes under the header, "Joel Maturi Exits As Gophers AD To A Decidedly Mixed Review" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 2/3). Also in St. Paul, Marcus Fuller notes Maturi's replacement is "expected to take over July 1." UM President Eric Kaler said that the school is "hiring a search firm" to help find a new AD (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 2/3).
