Holy Cross AD search underway
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Holy Cross is well underway with its search for a new athletic director. But if you're wondering about candidates for the position, they're playing their cards close to the vest.
As originally announced last month, the College has retained search firm DHR International to assist in the process of identifying candidates and ultimately hiring an athletic director to replace Dick Regan, who announced in July he would be stepping down from the position.
Glenn Sugiyama, DHR Executive Vice President and global leader of the firm’s Sports Practice, along with Pat Richter, Executive Vice President at DHR, will work with Fr. Boroughs, Frank Vellaccio, Senior Vice President, and an internal college search committee, to coordinate the process and identify candidates for the position.
“In seeking the College’s next Athletic Director, it is essential that we find someone who has excellent intercollegiate management experience and an appreciation for the excellence of our academic program," Fr. Boroughs said in August. "The ideal candidate will be someone who embraces the ideals of a Jesuit liberal arts college, including our commitment to diversity, and works effectively with the rest of the college community.”
Richter is a former athletic director at the University of Wisconsin, where he took a department operating at more than a $2 million deficit and turned it into an operating reserve of more than $6 million. The Badger teams, during his tenure, won three national titles and 51 Big Ten championships. Holy Cross has an athletic budget estimated at more than $12 million annually by midmajority.com.
While potential candidates number in the dozens, one name has come up in discussion that would seem to be a strong fit - Gregg Burke, a former Deputy Athletic Director at the University of Rhode Island who currently serves as the school's golf coach. Burke is a Holy Cross alum (1980), and has experience at the senior associate levels at both URI and Providence College, with experience and success in fundraising.
As for other potential candidates, requests for comment from the search committee have not been returned.
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