New Boston College AD Martin Jarmond at 37 is the youngest of any in the Power Five, as well as just one of 14 African-American ADs in FBS, but those are the "strengths vital to reviving a BC program that’s had a hard fall from grace," according to a profile by Julian Benbow of the BOSTON GLOBE. For an athletic department in "need of a jolt," Jarmond, the first black AD in BC history, is a "walking energy drink." He "takes his meetings in the mornings (with a cup of oolong tea) and makes decisions in the afternoon." He is "suit-and-tie, but not starched," and he will "have a Miles Davis playlist cued, but is fully fluent in J. Cole." He is "by no means bashful." Jarmond "made his name as a highly skilled fund-raiser" for Michigan State and Ohio State, but he "made a career for himself by building relationships." Jarmond was named MSU Assistant AD/Development in '05 and was "promoted to director in a year." He "helped the athletic department raise" more than $126M. OSU AD Gene Smith then hired him as Associate AD/Development in '09. Smith: "He, frankly, reminded me a lot of myself when I was at that age." Benbow noted BC "has its own battles to overcome with diversity," as all 31 head coaches in the athletic department "are white." Jarmond: "Diversity is important to making us better. ... A common thing I’m hearing from fans and donors is, ‘You’ve got a tough job on your hands.'" He added, "I have to get everybody to share the vision that I have for BC. It’s going to be a process, but we will do the work to get it done” (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/12).
