Univ. of Texas President Bill Powers said that the school "hasn’t decided whether to hire a search firm for assistance" in replacing retiring men's AD DeLoss Dodds, according to Kirk Bohls of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Powers "doesn’t have a working list, but he hopes to prepare one with 'seven or eight' names starting next week." Powers said, "I’d like to not go in with any preconceived notions. Having said that, you want someone with an understanding of both the athletic side and the logistical side of the college sports world. There are a number of ways you can do that. Other people (besides those with AD experience) might have that.” Powers "won’t reveal the figure Texas will offer Dodds’ replacement." But he said, "We'll be competitive" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 10/2). Powers said that he "planned to lean heavily on Dodds during the process, while also consulting with his school’s regents." He mentioned the "possibility of having someone hired in the next few months." Powers: “We don’t need somebody in a week. We can do it thoughtfully” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/2). In Ft. Worth, Jimmy Burch writes Dodds in announcing his retirement "basically washed his hands of any involvement in making a call on his embattled football coach" Mack Brown. Dodds said, “Anything that this department does significantly in the next year needs to have the hand of the new person. Because that’s the person that’s going to have to manage it and live with it and be responsible for it" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 10/2).
BETTER THAN MOST: In Austin, John Maher writes, "What Dodds did best, better than all others engaged in college sports, was create revenue." Dodds said that the department’s budget was $4M when he arrived in '81 and is now pushing $170M. UT not long ago "became the first school to have revenue" of more than $100M in one sport, football. Dodds said that when he "arrived at Texas, the athletic department had 60 employees and it now has about 350." Dodds: “The money absolutely has changed things." Maher notes UT in Dodds’ tenure spent almost $400M "upgrading facilities, including remodeling the baseball stadium, building a basketball practice facility, building a track stadium and turning the football stadium into a money-making stream." UT a little more than two years ago "made history" when it, along with IMG College, signed a 20-year, $300M deal for the Longhorn Network. The deal "added to the lore surrounding Dodds’ negotiating skills" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 10/2). In Houston, Mike Finger writes of Dodds, "His legacy as one of the best in his field is unquestioned." Univ. of Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione said Dodds "shaped the agenda for what became of college athletics" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/2). HornsNation.com's Sean Adams said of Dodds, "He's done his time, he's been really, really successful -- probably ushered over the 'Golden Age' of what is the University of Texas sports. Now it's time to hand it over to somebody else ... to take it to the next stage" ("College Football Live," ESPN2, 10/1).
