er, the head softball coach who will become interim AD.The committee essentially is in place to conduct a nationwide search to replace Kirinovic on a permanent basis.
In the meantime, one has to wonder what the mission of Ferris State Athletics will be as the next AD takes his or her place and leads the department into the future.
Will Ferris expect to field intercollegiate athletic programs hungry to compete at the highest level in the GLIAC, the region and the nation? Face it, if Ferris (and most other schools) can compete with Grand Valley State University (in most sports) then it can compete with the best in the region and the nation. GVSU has the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the nation and, for a lot of Ferris fans, the Lakers are the bar.
In these challenging economic times in Michigan, raising funds takes on even greater importance and there seems little doubt that will be a priority for the next AD.
Ferris has not had a new AD since Kirinovic was hired in 1999 to replace Larry Marfise. So, for a lot of people, this will mark a major change in Ferris Athletics.
Like a lot of people, we will all be as interested in the mission of Ferris Athletics moving forward as we will be in who will become the next AD.
With a new AD coming in, one has to imagine expectations will be high.
I think the new AD comes in and takes off from where Tom has the program right now. The expectations I think are going to be high and this is an opportunity to get someone new in the mix.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there will be high expectations. I know a lot of people will have expectations that Ferris needs to go out and be competitive at the highest levels of the GLIAC. While some people argue about whether that is possible, a successful candidate for AD is going to want to push Ferris to its maximum potential. It will take a lot of work, setting goals, establishing expectations, raising funds and more.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to see where Ferris goes from here.
Part of that plan hopefully has to be raising funds and not hoping that the state is going to open up the Scrooge McDuck money bin.
ReplyDeleteLet me say this...IF Ferris truly wants to raise the bar then I know of one candidate from a successful mid major that is interested.....but the key words are "RAISE THE BAR"...thinking of GVSU is not high enough!
ReplyDeleteFerris needs a young and hungry AD to come in and make things happen. The new AD, like Sandy's article says, is going to have to raise funds and raise expectations. That means results and not excuses.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if all schools could fully fund their athletic programs, but it just isn't going to happen in Michigan the way things are right now. It would be nice if we could have all the scholarships. I am not holding my breath waiting on it to happen and neither should the new AD. How can a school really justify spending a lot of money on sports when kids are dropping out of school. I think it's right about going out and getting the money.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard for schools to justify putting more money in sports. I hate to say it. That is just the reality of it. Just sayin....
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of issues the new athletics director is going to have to deal with in the near future and distant future. Lots of interesting points being brought up here. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment.
ReplyDelete