Several notable former ADs at the ’17 Learfield Intercollegiate Athletics Forum weighed in on topics surrounding college sports and how some of today’s prevalent issues could be addressed. CLL Business Enterprises Founder & CEO Cheryl Levick, a former AD at Georgia State, praised the recent hires of Carla Williams at Virginia and Lisa Campos at Texas-San Antonio. However, Levick still felt there was more to be done when it comes to women landing AD positions. Levick: “We’re seeing progress being made. Honestly, though, is it fast enough? No. ... We’ve got a lot of work to do, but everyone is trying.” She added that former ADs such as herself, as well as current campus leaders, “need to do a better job of mentoring.” Levick: “We simply need more consistent development of our next leaders.”
BACK TO BASICS: Collegiate Sports Associates Consultant Jim Livengood, a former AD at UNLV, Arizona and Washington State, touched on the FBI investigation into corruption across college basketball. Livengood: “This isn’t over. I’m excited for the committee and Condoleezza Rice’s involvement. If we don’t do something to get high schools back into the business of recruiting, we’re gone. It’s too easy to say, ‘Let’s get rid of AAU.’” He added, "Who knows what’ll happen, but it has to be cleaned up for the integrity of collegiate athletics.” Livengood noted in many cases across the country, a high school basketball coach may be completely left out of the college recruiting process for one of his players. Livengood: “It has to get back to the grassroots. … Maybe that genie is too far out of the bottle, but it has to happen.”
GOING STRONG: Athletics Legacy Partners Founder & CEO Dave Hart, former AD at Tennessee and Florida State, praised the current CFP model. Hart: “Huge success. It’s captured the imagination of everyone who loves sports … and also has brought in a lot of revenue.” Asked if he foresees the field expanding from four to eight schools, Hart did not rule it out, but pointed to concerns about player safety with an increased number of games on the schedule. As for any criticisms of the current model, Hart said there has not been a “smorgasbord of teams that have gotten in so far.” He noted that Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State have all made the playoff at least twice already.
TAKING THE TEMPERATURE: Collegiate Sports Associates Founder & President Todd Turner, former AD at Washington, Vanderbilt, N.C. State and UConn, was asked if the NCAA is still relevant in the wake of the FBI investigation and the recent ruling over alleged infractions at North Carolina. Turner: “I’ve been on over 100 campuses the last eight years, and I hear a lot of questions about the effectiveness of the NCAA.” Turner stressed there is a growing perception across campuses that the NCAA has issues with “credible enforcement.” Asked if North Carolina “won” its case, Turner said he believes so, adding, “They’ll [now] be a stronger institution.” But Turner said he believes North Carolina had a financial situation that allowed the school to better “defend themselves and lawyer up” than other universities would have. Turner stressed that college athletics as a whole needs to get back to being “grounded in academic growth.” Turner: “We should focus on allowing our schools to let their students be students first.”
