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IU names Michael McNeely as its next athletics director
March 1, 2001
EDITORS: A broadcast-quality feed of today's news conference will be available by satellite uplink at 4:30 p.m. today. Coordinates are KU Satellite GE3, Transponder K14, Audio 6.2-6.8 mono. Technical assistance is available from WFYI, phone 317-633-7410.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University today (March 1) announced that IU President Myles Brand has appointed Michael S. McNeely, vice president and chief operating officer of the San Diego Chargers, as the university's next athletics director.
McNeely succeeds Clarence H. Doninger, who will retire this summer after serving IU as athletics director since 1991. As athletics director, McNeely will oversee 24 Division I-A programs in men's and women's intercollegiate sports.
In addition to his experience with the Chargers, McNeely, 46, knows intercollegiate athletics from every perspective: as a student-athlete, a coach, a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) administrator and a Division I athletics director. He has more than 16 years of experience as an administrator or coach in intercollegiate athletics.
A native of Dodge City, Kan., McNeely was director of athletics at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., director of operations and a compliance and enforcement officer at the NCAA, and an assistant football coach and recruiting director at the University of Colorado.
He has a law degree from the University of Oklahoma and also is an alumnus of Northwestern Oklahoma University, where he was captain of the football team.
President Brand said McNeely was the enthusiastic choice of the search committee, headed by J. Terry Clapacs, IU vice president for administration, which found him to be a proven leader dedicated to the academic mission of the university and to integrating athletics with that mission.
"The committee looked for someone with a rare combination of qualities and experiences. The committee wanted someone who understands the academic mission of Indiana University and the need to integrate athletics with academics," Brand said. "Importantly, the committee sought someone committed to winning teams and to IU's grand tradition.
"The committee and I sought an administrator who could oversee a multi-million dollar enterprise, who understood the business of athletics, including marketing, budgeting, alumni relations and gender equity," Brand continued. "We're strongly convinced that we have found that person in Mr. Michael McNeely."
During his introduction to Hoosiers today, McNeely emphasized that he expects to continue IU's rich tradition of success and as a contributor to the state's proud heritage.
"I've tried to read up on what is a 'Hoosier.' What I found was there is no definitive answer, so I thought I might contribute to that dialogue, even if in just in a minor way," McNeely said.
"A Hoosier is characterized by extraordinary commitment, single-mindedness and purpose, unusual self-discipline, mental toughness, and genuine preparation far beyond anyone else. That's what I expect of myself, our coaches, our administrators and our student-athletes."
At the NCAA, he worked as a compliance and enforcement representative before taking on a key leadership role for a national association that had a $26 million budget and 270 full-time employees. Among the special projects with which he was involved were the organization's future move of its headquarters, guidance and assistance to student-athletes who pondered a future in professional sports, and professional opportunities for minorities and women there.
At the University of the Pacific, McNeely led an athletics department that succeeded both on and off the fields. During his tenure, he improved academic support programs for student-athletes as well as athletic facilities. In his last year, the university won the Commissioner's Cup for the best all-around athletics program in the Big West Conference.
With the National Football League's San Diego Chargers, McNeely directed the day-to-day operations of a high-profile organization that played an active and positive role in the community. He developed the club's television, radio, marketing and sales activities, as well as community relations programs like the Chargers Champions Youth Program, a $3 million scholarship and grant program for area public schools.
At the University of Colorado in 1981 to 1985, he served with head football coaches Bill McCartney and Chuck Fairbanks in rebuilding a Division I program to national prominence. He was position coach for wide receivers, tight ends, quarterbacks and linebackers and was the team's recruiting coordinator from 1981 to 1983.
(Susan Dillman, 812-856-9035, sdillman@indiana.edu)