Highlights from a sit-down with the new director of athletics

IDS: Without a set agenda going on and with the lack of athletics director experience, how do you plan on compensating for that and getting caught up and learning the ropes?

Fred Glass: One way is just meeting with everybody and having a very open-door policy. That will be challenging because that will be a lot of input. I’ll have to sort the wheat from the chaff on that, and all that, but I’ve done that most of my career. And so, listening will be one way and being people-accessible. Two, I’m a big believer, I feel like I’m a lawyer because I’m always looking for a form, why would I want to re-invent the wheel? There are people out there who have figured out, at least in their organizations, models for how you run your overall program, different components of your program, and I intend to tap into that expertise, and I think a lot of it is residents in Bloomington. I’ll do that and then I’ll rely on my people, you know, you can do a Milt The Monster – you’re too young to remember Milt the Monster – but you can say, leadership and judgment and accountability and oh, let’s put in some athletic administration experience and make him a D-I coach and a former D-I athlete. You could create the perfect thing, but I think that’d be a pretty tough nut to crack. I think I have a lot of what IU needs now, and I do or I wouldn’t take this job. But I also have some gaps that will need to be filled by a team approach. If one guy could do it all you wouldn’t need a staff, just an athletic director. But that’s just now how it is, and I’m comfortable with that.

IDS: One of your client’s biggest problems is facilities, an area of your expertise. You’re inheriting a 40-year-old football stadium and a similarly old basketball stadium that, while they have their benefits, don’t maximize profit. Is that one of the main focuses of why you took this job? Is that something you’re looking to change?

Glass: Yeah, I don’t believe I was brought in and I don’t think the administration brought me in because “Here’s the guy who did Lucas Oil Stadium, let’s do it to Assembly Hall.” That was never stated or an implied expectation, but I can see where people might think their bringing in the facilities guy that might do that – that was never part of the conversation. I do think that one of President McRobbie’s focuses is on improving infrastructure. And he’s been doing a lot to improve infrastructure south of 17th in a real dramatic way. And being on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the College of Arts and Sciences, I’ve been thrilled with some of the things he’s been able to accomplish. And I think the athletics department has been doing some of that improvement north of 17th Street, some of which is in process now and some which is in the books to get done. I think it’s very consistent with the president’s approach to pay attention to our facilities, and we’re in the middle of trying to get a lot of that done now. It strikes me that the Assembly Hall piece is something that’s not going to be on the front burner.

IDS: The biggest issue with the students, I’m not sure if you’ve been following this, is the recent discussion over student basketball tickets and the struggles the IU Athletics Department has had with getting students to buy tickets. Have you been following that much?

Glass: Not too much, I know we uncharacteristically have tickets available in basketball.

IDS: I know you were a student here once. Can you tell us how it was different then than it is now? Was there a different attitude?

Glass: I can’t say I know exactly what it is now other than the fact that there are available basketball tickets would be unheard of when I was down here. In fact, you were only able to buy half the season tickets because everyone wanted tickets so bad. There was a fervor about basketball, which I think is still there and I think Coach Crean will really help bring that back. I’m optimistic about where we’ll be there.

IDS: You mentioned earlier today that this is the coolest thing you’ve done ...

GLASS: (Laughs.) Yeah, it is.