After familiarizing himself with professors, students, athletes, donors, the entire Athletic Department and important community members, Oregon Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny had a busy first month on the job.
And that’s not even considering the time Kilkenny’s spent working on his personal project – the new basketball arena. Only about five percent of his time has been devoted to those plans, he said.
Still, the transition between him and former Athletic Director Bill Moos has been a smooth one, those who work in the department say.
“He’s been going at day and night, 24 hours, seven days a week. He’s a tireless worker,” Senior Associate Athletic Director Gary Gray said. “I’m jealous of his energy sometimes.”
When he was first announced as athletic director, Kilkenny said he would need a lot of help being brought up to speed on the types of issues he’d have to deal with on a daily basis. He said he’d rely on his senior staff for guidance on things he’s not familiar with.
Although he continues to learn the various aspects of running an athletic department, Kilkenny’s knowledge of the business world has eased his transition.
“He’ll bring you in, ask how we did the budget before, he’ll think like a businessman and throw some information in that we may have not thought about,” Senior Associate Athletic Director Renee Baumgartner said. “Pat brings such a unique perspective from being a successful businessman and he can bring insight into a $41 million business that others may not have.”
Part of Kilkenny’s business-like approach was bringing in a consultant to help him reorganize his senior staff, attempting to utilize their skills in hopes of creating a more efficient work place. Some have new jobs, while others like Gray, who is in charge of the compliance issues, will continue to assume their normal duties. Kilkenny said he needed to surround himself with intelligent people but wants to make sure they’re in positions to succeed.
In terms of financing the arena, Kilkenny rehired former Senior Associate Athletic Director Jim Bartko from Cal to oversee the fundraising efforts. Bartko will officially start on Monday.
“There’s going to be some significant focus in some areas that I think there wasn’t as much focus in the past,” Kilkenny said. “I’ll probably be more hands in the areas that relate to going from self-supporting to self-sustaining to building a new arena.”
His business background has made him a quick learner as well.
“His learning curve is extremely short,” Baumgartner said. “He’s really picked up on a lot of different variables that you may not expect an outside business person coming into an Athletic Department.”
Of course, because Kilkenny was a former donor, he came to Oregon already familiar with some of his current staff. Although he didn’t have a working relationship with the senior associate athletic directors, his previous interactions with them has made the transition more comfortable for everyone.
“I get a lot of feedback, which is very helpful. I don’t think there’s any trepidation about letting me know when there’s an issue,” Kilkenny said. “In my prior life, everyone told me what I wanted to hear. You can’t be very productive (doing that). Here, they’re telling me (what I need to do).”
But for the most part, Kilkenny lets his staff handle the things they’re supposed to do.
“His management style is: Take care of it and if you need me I’m here,” Baumgartner said. “That’s very unique.
“He’s very straightforward, and I really like that you know where you stand.”
Kilkenny’s approach contrasts Moos’, who expected to have everybody agree to an idea before anything got done.
“Bill was a different type of manager; he had a great business perspective as well, but Pat has given us job responsibilities and you’re ultimately responsible in those areas,” Baumgartner said. “With Bill, it was more like, ‘Here’s your responsibilities but I want you to really make sure everybody’s happy before you make that decision.’ Pat’s perspective is, ‘Make the decision and if you need some insight from others, great. Go ahead’.”
It’s not all strictly business, though. Many of Oregon’s professors voiced their complaints, feeling the University hiring a businessman and donor would stress too much importance on athletics and further the perceived divide between athletics and academics, a point that was exacerbated once the football schedule announced having the Civil War game the Saturday before finals week.
Kilkenny said he attended a University Senate meeting on Wednesday related to the football schedule and hopes he let the Senate know he’ll do a better job communicating in the future.
“I’m optimistic that I’m building some trust,” Kilkenny said. “I think we stubbed our a toe a bit but it was a good lesson for me to learn early on.”
Kilkenny’s said he’s spent about 25 percent of his time developing the trust with the academic side.
“People seem to be willing to give me a chance and that’s all I want,” he said.
As for the arena, once Bartko comes to Eugene to take control of the project, Kilkenny believes he’ll have a better understanding of how it’ll take shape.
“I think we’ll have a plan within the next 30 days, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to have an answer,” Kilkenny said.
But aside from the arena, Kilkenny’s objective is to generate more funds for the department. He said the department made $41 million this past year and spent $41 million. He hopes to create a business model that will allow Oregon to become self-sustaining as time goes on, and the arena plays a big part in those plans.
When discussing the direction of the Athletic Department under Kilkenny, Baumgartner stole a line she heard from a donor recently.
“We’re entering the golden era of Oregon Athletics,” she said. “I think we are definitely going to see a lot of new and exciting things transpire here.”
Things may need to happen soon though. Kilkenny signed a contract through June 2009 and hopes to break ground for the new arena before his term is over.
“Two years is going to go by very quickly,” Baumgartner said. “I don’t want time to run out before we get this arena built.”
[email protected]
One month later, Kilkenny still adjusting to new job
Daily Emerald
May 10, 2007
0
More to Discover