Martin Jarmond yesterday was officially introduced as Boston College's new AD and he "laid out his vision for re-instilling a winning culture while acknowledging the inevitable learning curve he’ll face," according to Julian Benbow of the BOSTON GLOBE. Jarmond said, "We need to be the most prepared team. We need to be focused on the process. The details do matter. And we need a relentless commitment to what it takes to win." Jarmond spent the day "meeting with media, student-athletes, and administrators." He considers his "ability to connect with people one of his greatest skills." Jarmond was contacted by the Parker Executive Search in March, and while he "wasn’t actively looking" to leave his role as Ohio State Deputy AD, he was "open to having a dialogue." Jarmond: "There was a mutual getting-to-know-each-other that was going on, and I needed to learn more. I had a great job at Ohio State and was very happy." He added, "The more I learned about Boston College and the opportunity and what’s going on -- this momentum, this period -- I was like, I need to be a part of that, I want to be a part of that. I want to lead and be the difference-maker I think I can be." What jumped out to Jarmond was the $200M commitment BC made to a facilities project last year. Jarmond: "Any time you see a commitment and an investment, it’s exciting." Jarmond said that he would remain at OSU through June to "finish out his duties there along with commitments for national committees before officially starting at BC, but he’ll be diving into his responsibilities at BC at the same time" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/25).
A LOT OF FIRSTS: In Boston, Rich Thompson notes at 37, Jarmond "becomes the youngest AD in a Power Five conference." But the future of BC athletics is in the hands of an "enthusiastic young administrator with a defined vision." Jarmond: "I feel strongly that being academically excellent and athletically excellent are not mutually exclusive. You can be both and that is what we intend to be" (BOSTON HERALD, 4/25). In Hartford, Desmond Conner notes Jarmond becomes the eighth BC AD and the first black AD at the school. Jarmond said, "I'm a self-starter and I tend not to think about those things because at the end of the day it doesn't matter what color I am." BC President William Leahy said, "It's important, no question, because it's never happened before. But Martin wasn't picked because he's black. He was picked because he's good." Conner notes BC men's and women's hockey are national powers, but Jarmond "certainly has his work cut out for him making revenue-producing sports produce revenue" (HARTFORD COURANT, 4/25).
TIME TO GET TO WORK: In Massachusetts, Riley Overend for BC's student newspaper outlined a "to-do list" for Jarmond, with the first being for the new AD to be "transparent about the future of smaller programs." The second call to action for Jarmond was to "improve the stadium plans for Brighton Campus facilities," and the third was to "finalize plans for a basketball practice facility." Overend also looks for Jarmond to "reinvigorate the alumni base of donors" (BCHEIGHTS.com, 4/24).
