In a candid interview, Jo Ann Gora shares her perspectiveEntering her third year on the job, Gora opens up to sports editor Greg Fallon about a turbulent past month by discussing BSU’s next men’s basketball coach, the departure of Ronny Thompson, the state of the athletic department, the status of fan support in the area and more.
Q: To your knowledge, how is the search for a new basketball coach going at this point?
A: I think it's going very well. I know there has been a lot of interest. I know that TC (Tom Collins) has heard from a lot of potential candidates, as well as from head coaches and even presidents of universities recommending people. It's been a very positive response to the opportunity. We're very excited.
Q: When it comes to the opportunity to coach men's basketball at Ball State, what do you feel makes this school appealing?
A: We have a fabulous facility. I think we are in a state and a region that cares deeply about basketball and provides incredible fan support. I think the university is well positioned in the MAC (Mid-American Conference) and has a great history in this area, has some traditions that speak to real excellence in men's basketball. I think it's an exciting job. I think it's seen as a great opportunity. We're really looking forward to seeing who our next basketball coach is going to be.
Q: How much of a role will you have in selecting the next men's basketball coach?
A: I'm the president of the university, not the athletic director. It will be the athletic director's choice. My role, as it is with all of my direct reports that are at the vice presidential level, is to ask good questions, make sure ... just be a helpful advisor. Ask lots of questions, go over who the finalists are and the process that's been used. But the final choice will be the athletic director's.
Q: Is that more or less of a role than you had in hiring Ronny Thompson?
A: That's always the role I've played. Frankly, that's the role I play with every vice president. ...
Expectations for the new guy
Q: Regarding Ball State's next basketball coach, what sort of attributes would you like to see in that coach?
A: I believe that being a coach in Division I-A athletics is one of the most complex jobs in the university. You have to be a great recruiter. You have to know how to motivate young people. You have to know the game so well that you can coach, you can coach against the individual opponents that every team faces. You have to be great with Xs and Os. But you also have to be great in the community. You have to be willing to split your time between recruiting and talking to various community groups, and being open and available to the press and responding to people. You've got a constituency of fans who want to hear from you, and you have to be willing to put in that time. I think the job is challenging. I think it requires a tremendous range of expertise. I think it's a very exciting opportunity for someone.
Q: Throughout Ronny Thompson's tenure, there was much criticism about his public relations skills, that they weren't quite what they should have been. How important is public relations specifically for a Division I men's basketball coach.
A: You know, we live in a community where people are intensely interested in men's basketball, and I think those public relation skills are very important. Whoever is our coach, here, Tracy Roller (women's basketball coach) is a great example, one of many great examples that I could cite, of somebody who is active in the community, who reaches out to a fan base, who communicates well with a wide range of fans and does a great job of recruiting and coaching the individual game. I think public relations is very important.
Dealing with the ECI rumor mill
Q: I want to recall back to the last month, overall. There has been a rumor mill in this community that has, both, spun wildly out of control but also accurately at other times. What are your general thoughts on online message boards, on fan Web sites, and just general conversation in the community regarding issues like the Ronny Thompson situation? Are those situations bad, good or are you indifferent? What are your general thoughts?
A: I don't read the blogs. To me, it's like the old gossip mill. I think it's wonderful that people have a chance to chat across communities and state lines, but it really is just folks chatting. I'm sure there is accurate information on the blogs and I'm sure there is inaccurate information on the blogs. I don't read the blogs, so I really can't comment beyond that.
Q: It's an issue that a lot of schools have to deal with now in the information age, the line of thinking from fans and media that they deserve to know what's going on. As a public institution, how do you decide where to draw the line when it comes to releasing information regarding what's going on behind the scenes when it comes to these sort of personnel matters?
A: We try to be transparent, while at the same time recognizing individual rights to privacy. Personnel matters are considered privileged and confidential, and I think that ultimately it's to the benefit of the individual, actually. Sometimes I think if the university could disclose more, people would have a greater understanding as to why we made the decisions we did. But I think to protect, to be respectful of individuals' rights to privacy, we withhold some information. And I think in the long term that is in the best interest of those individuals.
Q: Regarding the Ronny Thompson situation, do you feel that that was all done properly, as far as the amount of information that was disclosed?
A: To the best of my knowledge, yes.
Talking fan interest
Q: Switching gears just a bit, regarding fans for Ball State basketball, over the last five seasons, attendance has averaged right at 4,700 fans per game. Over the last two seasons, it's been down to about 4,200 a game. The school has one of the biggest, and certainly one of the nicest facilities, should Ball State be drawing better attendance?
A: Sure. And if we have a winning season, I'm sure we will. Everybody loves a winner. We have had two disappointing seasons. The fans have gotten frustrated. I understand that.
Q: Are there other things that can be done, aside from winning to try to generate interest in the program?
A: You know, one of the things that has surprised me is that there hasn't been an even bigger turnout for women's basketball. Women's basketball is a great program and they had a fabulous season. I always went to the women's basketball games, and I was always disappointed that there wasn't a larger turnout for them. Frankly, I'd love your advice on what we could do to stimulate fan turnout. Because there you had a coach with great public relation skills, a wonderful team, a winning record and people did not flock to the stands. I scratch my head about that.
State of the athletic department
Q: Shifting gears again just a little bit, let's talk about the athletic department as a whole. In your opinion, how is Ball State's athletic department perceived by the general Ball State population right now?
A: I think people have a lot of respect for our athletic department. I think we've had a great season, in terms of the academic record of our athletes. We're really proud of how our athletes are top in the MAC and, frankly, top in the state in terms of academics. Our win-loss record has been disappointing, in the two major sports that people care most deeply about -- football and basketball. But, we ended the season in football on a very positive note. We had a great women's soccer season. They won the MAC, and that was really exciting. Women's field hockey got into the MAC Tournament. Men's baseball had a season last year and got into the NCAA and did pretty well, at least won the first game. I think when you say "people," I think fans look at how our students are doing both on the playing field and the classroom. I think we have a good story to tell.
Q: How much of a negative hit has the athletic department's image taken in the last month, with all the developments -- whether they be Ronny Thompson's resignation, all the way to the racial notes that were discovered? How big of a negative hit has there been in the last month?
A: I don't believe there has been as big of a negative hit as you might, Greg. I think there was a lot of suspense about whether Ronny was going to stay or leave, and now that suspense is over. I think we were all incredibly distressed about the notes that were left in the men's basketball coaches' office. But there is a lot more going on in athletics than just what's going on with men's basketball. I think, at least people on campus and I think people in the community and in the CVC (Cardinal Varsity Club), they see the big picture.
Q: In regards to the racial notes that were discovered on June 24, the school has launched a climate assessment in regards to the situation. In your experience with the athletic department, with its coaches, with its athletes, with its administration, have you ever encountered racial issues in that department?
A: In my three years here, I have not been aware of racial issues. But that's one of the reasons we're doing the climate assessment, to ensure the fact that we are welcoming a warming environment for all athletes and coaches. You know I live a long way, psychologically and physically, from the athletic department. When those notes were discovered in the office of the men's basketball coaches, I thought it was deplorable. And I thought it prompted a need for more than just a police investigation of who did that. I prompted a question of "well, what kind of an environment is this for people of color?"
Evaluating TC
Q: Tom Collins has been the athletic director here now for a little over a year and a half. How you evaluate the job he's done with the department in that time?
A: I think he's done a very good job. I think he's made a lot of hard decisions, made some significant changes, has worked hard to develop the donor base. He has worked hard to be supportive, in particular, of women's athletics. He worked very hard to develop a five-year gender equity plan that I think we can all be proud of. He has worked hard to help the coaches with our students' academic performance, to make sure that we have the support systems in place. He has gone out of his way to make sure that we have a strong compliance environment. He has a very complex job. I think he has been very dedicated.
Q: Looking back to when you hired him, what expectations did you have for him then and how has he done meeting those specific expectations? And what were they?
A: You would perhaps be interested to know that in our strategic plan, which will be published in the early fall, we actually set a goal of winning three MAC championships a year by 2012. That's a very ambitious goal. TC endorsed that, realizing of course that the pressure would be on him. Nevertheless, he endorsed that. My goals for an athletic director are to help us win on the playing fields, of course, and to help bring home some MAC championships, but to be sure our students continue to perform in the classroom. We prize the fact that we have one of the best academic records, not only in the MAC but in the country. We want to maintain that. The athletic director has a significant role in fundraising, and TC has been very active in that area. We also want to increase fan support, and that involves TC being available to the media, going out and talking to community groups and thinking creatively about what we can do to stimulate fan interest. It is a complex job, and those are some of the dimensions that comprise a positive performance evaluation.
Q: In Collins' time as athletic director, the school has three times had to self report rules violations to the NCAA. What are your feelings on those instances, and why does this continue to happen?
A: Tom Collins came to the university when we were at the tail end of the book violation.
Q: I'm not counting that as one of the three. Two men's basketball and then softball.
A: Well, we've had a change in our compliance area. And we have tried diligently with this change to be much more active in terms of rules education. NCAA compliance is very important to us. Now, none of those violations are major violations. They are all secondary violations. The NCAA has accepted our reporting. That's what they expect institutions to do. We have lived up to those expectations and reported these violations. And they have accepted the penalties that we have imposed on ourselves. Since Tom has been here, I think actually from the NCAA perspective, we are doing very well.
Is Ball State winning enough?
Q: Ball State sponsors 18 teams. In the last five years, Ball State has won just six Mid-American Conference Tournament titles. There have been some regular-season champions and some divisional champions, but tournament success tends to be a strong measure of an athletic department's overall direction. Is six tournament titles in five years enough?
A: No. Not at all. I agree with your analysis. I think winning is important. To quote some famous folks, it's not the only thing. But it is important. We have tried to set higher standards in that area for our athletic department.
Q: What specifically should be done to improve that? Do there need to be better coaches, better athletes? Does the administration need to be better? What specifically needs to happen?
A: All of those factors lead to improved performance on the playing field. But, in my mind, it starts with the coach and with the support system you give the coach. You have to recruit a coach who's great at recruiting and then great at all those complex aspects of the job that we just discussed. He has to know how to motivate students, how to coach them, how to prepare them for the next game. He has to know how to analyze each game while it's in progress and make the right calls while it's in progress. It's a very complex job. Tom hired, recruited the women's soccer coach (Michelle Salmon) who had a fabulous season, came here and had a winning season. He has had an opportunity to recruit several other coaches. And I'm hopeful that more of his recruits have very successful seasons. But I agree with you that we would like to see a much stronger record on the playing field.
Thoughts on women's coach Tracy Roller
Q: I want to shift gears again a little bit and talk to you about women’s basketball coach Tracy Roller. Currently, she is the highest paid coach at Ball State. She has never won a MAC Tournament title or advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Some wonder, then, why she was awarded with a contract the size it was – $182,000 a year. What are your thoughts on that?
A: I think Tracy has a long and strong record of performance on the playing field and in the community. She had a great season this year. Yes, we hoped that she would have beaten Bowling Green in the championship game (of the MAC Tournament), but Bowling Green has had a long and strong record in this area and had lots of seniors on that playing field. I think we might beat Bowling Green this year because I think all those seniors graduated. But Tracy is a strong performer, both on the court, in the community and she has had a series of very strong seasons.
Q: With her contract in place, will the expectations for her change at all from what they¹ve been in the past?
A: Sure. And she realizes that, too.
Q: In what way?
A: Well, there is an expectation that she will continue to perform at that level and higher. She is now a seasoned coach and a senior coach at Ball State, and so we expect leadership both on the playing field and in the community.
Regarding Thompson’s departure
Q: I know the next few questions are going to be of a sensitive topic, but I’d be remiss if I didn¹t ask a few questions regarding Ronny Thompson, specifically. Where do you think the relationship between him and the university soured?
A: I don¹t think the relationship between him and the university soured. I think Ronny got frustrated and felt he couldn¹t be successful here. We tried to convince him otherwise. I think he felt that he had gotten significant criticism in the press. That was very dispiriting to him. I, in fact, was delighted with the editorial that appeared in the Ball State Daily News that was so supportive of him and his continuing as our coach. And I was delighted to be able to share that with Ronny. But I think he just got frustrated.
Q: We obtained some e-mails through a public records request. And during press conference, other conversations with you and mainly with Tom Collins, it seems that the administration was very supportive of Ronny in the time that he was here. If he had not resigned, would he still be the men’ basketball coach?
A: Yes he would be.
Q: You would have been completely fine with that?
A: I would. Ronny had a poor first season. But he was hired in April. He didn¹t get his chance to pick his team. He had to select recruits who hadn’t been selected by other coaches. And so I never had high expectations for his first season. I don¹t think you judge a coach by one season. I think Ronny could have been a very strong coach at this institution and could have had winning seasons.
Q: Do you expect any further issues with Ronny Thompson? Do you believe all has been resolved? Do you anticipate any sort of lawsuits of any kind based on his departure?
A: One never knows.
Q: Throughout the entire Ronny Thompson situation, what did you learn specifically? Now that it¹s time to move forward, what did you learn in that process?
A: I think it’s important to be supportive of new coaches. I think when you¹re a new coach, there are high expectations when you’re in a sport that a lot of people care about. I think it¹s very important to be supportive and try to reach out and help a new coach make a successful adjustment to the community.
www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070729/NEWS01/707290357