Jim Schaus already is making the rounds in the business community trying to whip up support for Wichita State University's athletic program.
Schaus, the school's new athletic director, sees the position as largely a marketing job. Local business leaders are a key constituency that he must reach if he is going to succeed.
"Wichita is a very vibrant business community," he said, "and we intend to cater to that."
But Schaus, former senior associate athletic director for the University of Texas at El Paso, knows he has a lot of work to do.
It has been years since WSU enjoyed national prominence in Division I basketball. Schaus comes to WSU at a time when the men's basketball team — WSU's biggest revenue generator — is known for mediocre performance on the court.
At the same time, WSU's nationally recognized baseball program is reeling from bad publicity. In April, a WSU pitcher was accused of intentionally hitting a rival batter before he even stepped up to the plate, seriously injuring the player's eye.
But Schaus, 39, sees many positives to build on. His goal is to make the athletic program a success, he said, not just on the scoreboard but also on the balance sheet.
"We are going to operate like a business," he said. "In all respects."
Running the business
Marketing is a critical part of Schaus' strategy.
It's something to which he's no stranger. His 16 years of experience include director of marketing for the Washington Redskins; assistant athletic director of marketing and broadcasting at the University of Oregon; and manager of the marketing departments at Northern Illinois University, the University of Cincinnati and UTEP.
Maybe because of his marketing skills, Schaus considers himself as much an ambassador as a chief executive officer — an idea he intends to pass down through the athletic department.
"I think we need, as a staff, to be more external," he said.
He's already started reorganizing the athletic department, including adding two new positions: associate athletics director for development and assistant athletics director for business operations. A national search has been started to fill those positions.
Most importantly, Schaus is developing a three- to five-year strategic plan that will include annual plans for all units in the athletic department.
The strategic plan will include the department's priorities and strategies, and time lines for implementation.
Then those plans will be presented to anyone who will listen.
"We'll know where we are going and be able to communicate that," Schaus said.
Money and facilities
If the goal is to win the Missouri Valley Conference, Schaus said, you can't have the lowest budget in the conference. Likewise, if a school's key sport isn't drawing at the level it should, every sport in the food chain suffers.
That's why getting either renovations for Levitt Arena or an entirely new site for men's basketball is critical for the department.
The problem is, bringing Levitt up to contemporary standards could cost $15 million to $20 million. The 10,400-seat arena was built for $1.4 million in 1955.
A new arena on campus could cost as much as $70 million.
But Schaus thinks something needs to be done to improve recruiting, as well as to bring in more fans.
And though talk of a new downtown arena being home to men's basketball is something Schaus and WSU officials aren't ruling out, Schaus also said that having the venue on campus enables WSU to show itself off to the community and fans.
Regardless, a new arena could give a shot in the arm to the entire athletic program.
It's a program Schaus thinks is capable of enjoying conference and even NCAA championships.
"We've had success," he said. "We've tasted it before and we can have it again."
Jerry Siebenmark writes for the Wichita Business Journal.
