Committee chooses 'football guy'

When IU selected Michael McNeely as its new athletics director, it got what a University vice president described as a "football guy."\nMcNeely has spent the last two years as the vice president and chief operating officer for the NFL's San Diego Chargers. He's also had stints with two college athletic departments and was director of operations for the NCAA.\nMcNeely spent five years coaching at the University of Colorado, helping build a football tradition. And the 47 year old said he spent his childhood in Kansas building football and baseball fields. \nAfter being named IU's new athletics director, effective July 1, McNeely will get the opportunity to help boost IU's struggling football program and the other 23 sports on the Bloomington campus. \n"Frankly, we liked the idea that he had a strong background in football," said Terry Clapacs, vice president for administration.\nClapacs acknowledged Indiana is a basketball state, an area McNeely will be quickly thrust into as the athletic department hunts for a full-time basketball coach. McNeely said he has been keeping up on the progress of interim head coach Mike Davis and the Hoosier basketball team, but offered no indication on whether he intends to keep Davis on a full-time basis. \n"Mike had done a good job," McNeely said. "Once the season is completed, we will begin the process to select a permanent head coach. I will assist and contribute to that process."\nMcNeely met with coaches and administrators for lunch Thursday, where he spoke with Davis and football coach Cam Cameron. Cameron was brought to IU in 1997 to turn around the football program. Since then, IU has sputtered. The Hoosiers' highest win total came in 1998 and 1999, when they won four games. \nAverage attendance in Memorial Stadium hasn't topped 43,000 since 1992, and IU averaged slightly more than 36,000 fans per game in 1999 and just more than 30,000 last season. \nCameron said he spoke with McNeely on Thursday afternoon and said McNeely had some "encouraging things to say." \nBut McNeely stressed that patience will be important.\n"Football, because of the numbers, is not something (to) turn around in a year or two years," McNeely said. \nCameron and his assistants attended Thursday's press conference. Cameron said he and his staff are focusing on the upcoming spring practice season, which begins March 21. Cameron commended the committee and said he heard about McNeely through Chargers quarterback Jim Harbaugh. \n"Jim had nice things to say about him," Cameron said. "It's a plus to have a guy that's been through a lot (of) things that we go through. He knows college football, he's been in pro football. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can learn from him."\nCameron also indicated he plans to invite McNeely to spring practice, but said he wouldn't read into the committee's decision to hire a candidate with a strong football background.\nMcNeely, who graduated from Oklahoma University with a law degree in 1979, has a background in marketing from the University of the Pacific, where he was athletics director from 1997-1999, and when working with the Chargers. McNeely initiated the Chargers Radio Network, the "Chargers Magazine" TV show and negotiated new multi-year major corporate sponsorship contracts in banking, health and beverage.\nMuch of the money around the $27 million athletic department budget stems from football. \n"I don't know that they could've found a better guy," IU Alumni Association marketing director and former basketball player John Laskowski said. "The committee realized $27 million. That's a lot of money the other sports aren't going to generate and more. It's got to be from the football side of things. Revenue increase is going to come from football. To bring in a guy with a football background makes perfect sense"