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Last modified: Tuesday, March 13, 2007

IU awards Rick Greenspan contract extension

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University President Adam W. Herbert announced today (March 13) that he has approved a three-year, nine-month contract extension for Athletics Director Rick Greenspan.

Under the new pact, Greenspan will serve as IU Athletics Director until June 30, 2013.

Photo by: www.homepages.indiana.edu

Rick Greenspan

Print-Quality Photo

"We have taken this action because in less than three years on the job, Greenspan has already brought stability and major improvements to IU's intercollegiate athletic programs," Herbert said. "We must sustain that momentum.

"Rick has been enormously successful as our AD. We want him to remain in this important role for many years to come," Herbert said. "This is a statement that IU has great confidence in Rick and the long-range vision he has for further enhancements in the university's intercollegiate athletics program."

Herbert credited Greenspan with fashioning a financial plan that has led to a balanced budget for the Athletics Department for the first time in several years.

Under Greenspan's leadership, IU has realized a 92 percent graduation rate for student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility.

The Hoosier athletics program has seen donations reach an all-time high over the last two fiscal years.

He also has launched a $55 million construction program for much-needed improvements to IU's athletics facilities. The enhancement plan includes the construction of the North End Zone building at Memorial Stadium, the Indiana Basketball Development Center, the Hoosier Baseball and Softball Complex, and the renovation of the Academic Center for Excellence.

Under his leadership, during each of the past two years, IU has finished in the top 40 for the NACDA Director's Cup, a broad-based award reflecting the overall competitive success of a collegiate athletic program.

Herbert said he is especially pleased with the high caliber of coaches that Greenspan has selected.

"Every coach Rick has hired is outstanding," Herbert said. "They all exemplify the high professional standards and traditions of our athletic programs. It has been my pleasure to work closely with Rick through these hiring processes, and I have been very impressed with the thoroughness of his selection and recruitment efforts."

Greenspan's current contract would have ended in September 2009.

"I am honored to serve our student-athletes, faculty, staff, coaches, alums and friends," Greenspan said. "I am very appreciative for the support that President Herbert, the Board of Trustees and the entire Indiana University administration have shown for the Department of Athletics. I look forward to the challenges ahead as we strive to represent Indiana University in a positive manner."

Greenspan took over as IU's Athletics Director in September 2004, after serving in that capacity for five years at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. Before that, he was athletic director at Illinois State University for six years.

At IU, Greenspan oversees 24 Division I-A programs with over 600 student-athletes in men's and women's intercollegiate sports.

Greenspan's new contract, which takes effect July 1, includes a base salary of $300,000, deferred compensation of $60,000 a year and several incentive provisions for both academic and athletic performance.

"We want Rick's incentives to be structured along the same lines as most athletics directors in the Big Ten and other major universities," Herbert said.

Under the new pact, Greenspan will be eligible for up to $50,000 in additional compensation for achieving predetermined goals in post-season play, graduation rates or finishing high in the Director's Cup standings.

Also, Greenspan could receive up to 10 weeks of additional pay for achieving "significant accomplishments" as determined by the president.

At West Point, Greenspan oversaw the design and construction of several major athletics facilities and the updating of older ones. He overhauled the annual giving program that resulted in a 300 percent increase in gifts, and he created a system of coaches' accountability and support programs in which 34 percent of all student-athletes were recognized on the dean's list.

Greenspan earned a master's degree in physical education with an athletics administration emphasis from Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho. He also has a bachelor's degree in behavioral science from the University of Maryland, where he was a four-year letter-winner in baseball.