New headman right choice

The athletics department announced Thursday the hiring of its new director, Rick Greenspan. Greenspan comes to IU after serving in the same capacity at Army and becomes IU's fourth athletic director in five years.\nAwaiting Greenspan is a department mired in a deficit of about $2 million, a purposed $65 million in renovations, a controversial implementation of a $30 mandatory athletic fee, and a football team that has won only five games in two years and hasn't been to a bowl game since 1993.\nDespite these shortcomings, Greenspan was the right choice to lead the department from the red to the black and from the cellar to the ceiling. He has extensive experience and has worked at major universities including the University of Miami, Cal-Berkeley and Illinois State. \nWith the $65 million plan to come exclusively from private funds, Greenspan's fundraising abilities will surely benefit a program drowning in a deficit. During his acceptance speech, he personally pledged $10,000 to the IU Varsity Club -- a sign that he puts his money where his mouth is.\nWhen IU started the athletics director search, one of the requirements was to find a man with experience who could ignite the department's main revenue source, the football team. While Army finished 0-13 last season, Greenspan was able to attract Bobby Ross, a nationally known coach who won a title at Georgia Tech and who also led the NFL's San Diego Chargers and Detroit Lions.\nWe may not know whether hiring Greenspan will be successful for some years. But with renewed optimism, we're willing to give it a chance.