Full Q&A with Penn's next athletic director M. Grace Calhoun

 

M. Grace Calhoun was formally introduced as Penn’s next athletic director at a press conference at the Palestra at 1 p.m. today. She officially takes over effective July 1, but she had plenty of thoughts on Penn Athletics at the presser. Here’s our full Q&A from Calhoun’s Monday remarks.  

Q: As you know, Penn has a long history of embracing athletic success at an Ivy League and national level as a major part of the campus community and a way of bringing people together. For as many teams in recent years that have succeeded in the Ivy League, with some of the programs including men’s basketball having fallen off a little bit and attendance having fallen off a little bit, and that feeling in the community having faded, what are your goals for bringing that back?

Provost Vincent Price: We certainly value the role of Penn Athletics in building bridges within the community, not just the larger community but the community just before us, the student body, the faculty, the staff here on campus. So one of the reasons we’re so excited about bringing Dr. Calhoun to campus is that she does have that kind of experience in having built that kind of excitement in other programs, and we have such fabulous opportunity to build on strengths at Penn, and I have every confidence going forward that we’ll be able to do just that.

Calhoun: Attendance at sporting events is a national issue, it’s not local to the University of Pennsylvania. But I welcome that challenge. I have always believed that it starts from within, that coaches need to support other coaches, student-athletes need to support other student-athletes, and if you can build that kind of energy base from within, then you start reaching out and there’s that infectious energy that permeates the campus.

I understand so many great partnerships have been formed, I was hearing over lunch about a sorority tug of war contest that happens at halftimes of games. I love involving as many campus groups as possible in our events to help make them their events as well. I would look to ensure that we have one or multiple events that we’re doing around every game and create those extra draws to bring people in. There’s a lot of competition for students’ time these days, many have grown up in places or at a time where going to athletics was just not part of their culture, part of what they did, so we need to train them that this is fun, that this is community-building, that these will be some of the great moments that they’ll take with them for the rest of their lives, and we’ll build it collectively as a partnership.

Q: Over the years, the Palestra the home of the Big 5, the doubleheaders going all the way back to the ‘40s. Now a lot of the games aren’t played at the Palestra anymore, a lot of them are back on the home campuses of each team. What are you kind of looking for in how to bring back that atmosphere, because I’ve talked to a lot of coaches and they kind of want to be back here. What is it going to take to bring the Big 5 back to its original home?

Price: We certainly welcome any and all interest in coming to the Palestra. It is a fabulous facility, since 1927, has been the centerpiece of college basketball. ESPN has called it the Cathedral of Basketball. We’ve seen just how energizing Big 5 competition can be here at the Palestra, so we are absolutely open, we would avidly welcome that sense of excitement that only Big 5 basketball can deliver and this is the house of Big 5 basketball.

I would echo Provost Price’s sentiments on that one. When you think of the Big 5, it is history and tradition, which is exactly what this building is all about. Again, the Cathedral of Basketball. I have the good fortune that three of the other four ADs are friends of mine. I guess that’s up to me to be a good negotiator going forward, but I’ve also learned to underpromise and overdeliver so I’ll learn the backdrop there. But I’d certainly love to honor the history and tradition of that event. If they say that copying is the best form of flattery, I can tell you that the last two years in Chicago, the five athletic directors have talked about trying to form a preseason tournament to mimic the Big 5. So it’s something that’s certainly known around the country, and embracing that history and tradition and really trying to get back to the big deal that it once was and can be again is certainly something we’ll aspire to do.

Q: I’ve read that student apathy was an issue that you had to deal with at Loyola upon taking over there in 2011. How did you go about trying to rectify that issue and what’s your sense of the student apathy at Penn right now?

A: Absolutely, it was certainly an issue I was confronted with in taking the position. We very much tied it to student life. We looked at athletics competitions as opportunities to really promote that sense of community and to get that sense of student life energized on campus. Certainly I just know what I’ve read from the Penn situation and talking to select individuals. Again, I repeat what I said earlier, this is a national issue, this is nothing that’s unique to Penn by any means.

But I think it’s how you approach it, again, starting from within. But really looking for those strong university partnerships, many of which I think you have in place already. But how can we expand upon those? What will make things more fun for students? I always feel like if we can get them into the arena, if we can get them into the Palestra and show them a good time, they’re going to keep coming back. So it’s all about how we put that together and create those experiences that we want to come out to and keep them coming back. It’s something that we all work together toward. When you look around this remarkable facility and think about the history and tradition here, I do think that Penn students all need to have that experience before they leave here, and we’ll work hard to do that.

Q: You’re the first athletic director at a Big 5 school, how do you address what that means to you?

A: I did hear that earlier. Certainly it’s an honor regardless, but I want to look towards Provost Price, Executive Vice President [Craig] Carnaroli, certainly President Gutmann and thank them for being willing to hire a female. I was the first female athletic director at my current, soon to be prior, institution. I’m surrounded by firsts. I believe Robin Harris was the first executive director of the [Ivy] League, certainly many women presidents. It’s wonderful to expand that tradition. I’ve always looked at that with a sense of responsibility that I need to ensure that I do a fantastic job because I know that if I do so, I’m helping to open doors for other women, just like so many phenomenal women have helped to open doors for me by being the first to serve in their positions.

Q: Can you talk about your fundraising experience and how much of this job will entail that?

A: So much is about the resources. My job is to properly support and advocate for coaches and student-athletes, and a big part of it is having the resources to be able to fund competitive programs. And fundraising has been a piece of all jobs in that every place, regardless of how big the budget, there are always financial needs. But obviously, it’s been a real focal point, my three years at Loyola. When I got there, all external revenue streams were a fraction of what we knew they needed to be.

So whether it was that outreach and really trying to amp up the fundraising, corporate sponsorship and those other partnership opportunities to enhance support are critical as well, as well all the other pieces – concession sales, ticket sales, parking, everything that flows into the Division is an extra dollar. I understand we’re under resource center management. Every dollar that comes in, I’ve been told is a dollar that we get to work with. So there’s great incentive to go out and do all we can do to fundraise. I personally love to do it. I’ve always felt I enjoy meeting people. I enjoy sharing my passion, and if you feel real strongly about what you do and you look at those student-athletes every day and know that they deserve a high-quality experience, it’s really easy for me to make a compelling pitch.

I enjoy being able to do that, as Provost Price has made it clear that he does not enjoy getting asked for money, and I don’t know a leader that does with all the different units reporting in and all the needs. So I’m hearing loudly and clearly that that’s going to be a big part of my responsibility. It’s something that Steve Bilsky did a tremendous job of, to increase fundraising. I think I saw that it quadrupled over his time. So the challenge is to keep that moving forward. We’re coming off a big campaign so it’s all about how we reframe that big Compact 2020, some new goals. That’s something that I’ll start doing. In fact, from today, I plan to ask for a list of phone numbers and start making those connections, seeing what we can do to raise that bar.

Q: You mentioned your soon-to-be former school Loyola. Obviously you take over here effective July 1. What’s your timeline of backing off your duties at Loyola going to be like, and when do you effectively take over authority as acting AD at Penn?

A: That will be as of July 1. Steve Bilsky is in the position until then and I fully expect him to continue his decision-making until then. Quite honestly, this will be the sanest transition I’ve had. I’ve had a lot where I finish in one state on Friday and start in the next job on Monday, so there’s plenty of time to really start, really understand well the issues and challenges ahead of me at Penn. I will certainly make some trips to get to meet with people. I really look forward to the opportunity to spend some time working directly with Steve and benefiting from his 20 years of experience so there are not wheels that I have to reinvent. But the effective transition will be for July 1.

Q: What is the philosophy that you’ve developed about the balance between revenue and nonrevenue sports in an institution and what the priorities for administrating should be?

A: I myself was an Olympic sport student-athlete. I was a gymnast up until eleventh grade, when I had a growth spurt and then I switched over to track and field. I love to say that my husband tells me I’m still waiting for my growth spurt. So it was gymnastics, track and field and skiing. So as an Olympic student-athlete myself, I never felt like I was any lesser of a student-athlete because I chose to do an Olympic sport, a nonrevenue sport. In fact, there weren’t a lot of options with reference to sports when I was young. So I have felt that all student-athletes should feel like they’re treated equivalently. There is a certain standard of expectations they should all have. I will do my best to support them all equivalently.

Now we know equivalently does not mean equally. By the nature of what we do, the revenue sports will need some extra accommodations and considerations. But in my mind, that should be done in a way that does not change the high-caliber quality of experience for any student-athlete, that they all feel valued, that they all feel invested in their education. And certainly that there are as many Olympic sport contests as they do regular sports. So you will see me there supporting all of them. With 33 sports, it might take a cycle or two, but I will get out with each of them on a roadtrip at some point. I’ve always said, once you spend seven hours on a bus with somebody, you get to know them pretty well.

Q: There’s a lot of hoopla, for lack of a better word, surrounding the success or lack of it for the Penn basketball program. What’s your sense of how the program is doing and what experience do you bring overseeing men’s basketball program coaching changes, as you did at Loyola? *

*Calhoun fired then-Loyola men’s basketball coach Jim Whitesell a month after taking over at Loyola.

A:  Well first and foremost, during this transitional period, we have no plans to make any changes. I believe strongly that I need to get in and really assess the situation firsthand. I believe everyone is entitled to a fair opportunity. Certainly I can see the records as everyone does and read the blogs as everyone can. But I really need to understand what’s happening there, and certainly will begin that evaluation and my fact-finding immediately. But certainly I am very committed to a fair and full process with this in figuring out how I can best support the program going forward.

Q: Is it strange to come into a situation where a lot of people are asking questions about the basketball program. Is it strange to have to come into that?

A: I don’t think it’s so strange. I certainly walked into a situation at Loyola where many of the programs were down and needed to be assessed. That really meant looking at all pieces of them to really identify why they’re not being successful. Do they have the proper resources? Do they have the proper leadership or top-down support? Those are certainly challenges that go along with the job.

I know that looking at this historic building again, basketball has been successful [at Penn] for most of its history and the greater Penn community is going to expect and demand that sort of success. So it’s my job to go in and figure out why that’s not happening but give that fair opportunity to see if we can do it with current leadership.

Q: Obviously at Loyola, you had a lot of restructuring to undertake. How do you compare the situation that you inherited there to the situation you’re inheriting here? *

*Calhoun restructured 40 new coaches and staff members at Loyola.

A: The situations are very different. I knew going into Loyola that it was a rebuild opportunity. The president, vice president, university leadership made it very clear to me that they had been down for a lot of years and needed to be rebuilt. If I look at the Penn program, it’s very different in that things are going relatively well. They have some of the best facilities at an urban institution, to have the fundraise accounts be as healthy as they are right now. So many teams doing so well. It’s really looking at what’s being done and how we get to those higher levels of excellence.

But things are going well here and we need to start by acknowledging that far more is going well than not going well, and how do we fine-tune and make those adjustments to achieve the higher success. But we don’t need the change Loyola did three years ago.

Q: Were you approached for this job or did you make the overture?

A: I was called by the search firm [Parker Executive Search]. Certainly Parker had known of my background and I think knew that I had been outspoken about the fact that getting back to the Ivy League was certainly an ultimate destination for me. When I look at the Ivy League job coming to a place like Penn that’s got this rich tradition, having family roots in the Philadelphia area, Shamokin for my mother and St. Clair for my father, … The search really seemed to get going after the turn of the year. I remember it was by the end of February that materials had to be in and certainly from the phone conversation I knew it was something my heart was in.

Calhoun’s thoughts on the FCS playoffs and the prospect of having an Ivy League men’s basketball tournament:

Some of the conversations every few years, I know they pop back up again … I know for the football championship, that’s one that the presidents have felt very strongly about, that they do not want to participate in the postseason. I went to Brown and in fact I was serving as class officer when Gordon Gee took over the presidency and I remember that being a big controversy because he was in favor of postseason competition. There’s been a rich debate there. I certainly don’t know all the specifics but I do know that the presidents have arrived at this stance after much debate and deliberation so I certainly respect that we’re not competing in the postseason for good reason.

As to the tournament, there are certainly pros and cons. It’s great to have the excitement of a tournament but the big downside is that you often have conferences that are sending less than their best representative because anyone can get hot for a game or two for a tournament. I respect that the Ivies feel you should win that opportunity based on the body of your work and not based upon a tournament, and in fact, I’m surprised that more conferences don’t feel the same way.

Q: As far as coaching goes, people are making parallels with the situation in basketball you inherited at Loyola and the situation in basketball you’re inheriting at Penn. How did you go about assessing the basketball situation at Loyola and how do you go about making that assessment now?

A: Again, very different situation in that I learned coming into the Loyola situation that the coach was going into the last year of his contract. I’ve been in college athletics to know that when you have a coach in the last year of his contract, there’s no ability to recruit, that would inevitably be used against that individual. It certainly would not have been my choice to make a change at that time. Personally it was very difficult, I was finishing a job, starting a new one, transitioning a family and then had to do a men’s basketball coaching search. Made for a very difficult time. But again, knowing that the coach was going into his last year, we came to terms with the fact that we had to be willing to either extend or we had to make a change. Ultimately, we just did not feel comfortable enough that the student-athletes were having that quality of experience and that the winning was there to extend that coach’s contract.

Q: It seems you made that decision fairly quickly.

A: Yes. We really had to. There tends to be a narrow window where positions turn over and we knew that to get a good pool for that position, we would have to move quickly.

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