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W&M Athletics Director Interview Questions...which questions are most important?
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WMSportsBlog Offline
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W&M Athletics Director Interview Questions...which questions are most important?
It's official: we expect W&M to HIRE its next Athletics Director within the next 4-5 WEEKS! ...But who's actually in charge of the Search Committee? And what interview questions are MOST IMPORTANT to the W&M Community?

Really interested to hear folks' thoughts here on the CSN boards regarding which questions they think are most important for our next AD to answer.

Check out the article below! LET'S GO TRIBE

Article: https://wmsportsblog.com/2021/06/03/wm-a...questions/
(This post was last modified: 06-03-2021 05:57 PM by WMSportsBlog.)
06-03-2021 05:56 PM
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wanm65 Offline
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RE: W&M Athletics Director Interview Questions...which questions are most important?
The MOST important question is what is your experience in fundraising ???

How would you approach potential big donors? Both alumni & people not affiliated with W&M.

What experience do you have in working with big donors?

How would you approach the rest of us?

What experience do you have in working with various levels of donors?
06-04-2021 09:43 AM
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Zorch Offline
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RE: W&M Athletics Director Interview Questions...which questions are most important?
I can't find the exact post but someone on the JMU site posted that JMU won 10 (!) CAA Championships this year (W&M won NONE) and they finished first during conference play in 7 other sports in which they did not win the championship (MBB, for example).

So, in addition to the fundraising questions, my questions to any prospective AD would concern his/her vision for closing the championship gap with JMU and restoring W&M to its preeminent place in the CAA (as regards to total championships; winning in football and basketball is another problem all of its own). Obviously, fundraising is part of this --- but not all of it. W&M has always been underfunded and yet we still managed to win (more than) our share of championships in the past. What is the AD's plan for hiring/retaining coaches of the caliber who won many of those championships? (Crispino, Thompson, Daly, etc).
06-04-2021 10:55 AM
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wanm65 Offline
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RE: W&M Athletics Director Interview Questions...which questions are most important?
(06-04-2021 10:55 AM)Zorch Wrote:  I can't find the exact post but someone on the JMU site posted that JMU won 10 (!) CAA Championships this year (W&M won NONE) and they finished first during conference play in 7 other sports in which they did not win the championship (MBB, for example).

So, in addition to the fundraising questions, my questions to any prospective AD would concern his/her vision for closing the championship gap with JMU and restoring W&M to its preeminent place in the CAA (as regards to total championships; winning in football and basketball is another problem all of its own). Obviously, fundraising is part of this --- but not all of it. W&M has always been underfunded and yet we still managed to win (more than) our share of championships in the past. What is the AD's plan for hiring/retaining coaches of the caliber who won many of those championships? (Crispino, Thompson, Daly, etc).

Everything you say we should do cost money; a lot of it.

No money no change 03-banghead
06-04-2021 12:13 PM
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Zorch Offline
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RE: W&M Athletics Director Interview Questions...which questions are most important?
(06-04-2021 12:13 PM)wanm65 Wrote:  
(06-04-2021 10:55 AM)Zorch Wrote:  I can't find the exact post but someone on the JMU site posted that JMU won 10 (!) CAA Championships this year (W&M won NONE) and they finished first during conference play in 7 other sports in which they did not win the championship (MBB, for example).

So, in addition to the fundraising questions, my questions to any prospective AD would concern his/her vision for closing the championship gap with JMU and restoring W&M to its preeminent place in the CAA (as regards to total championships; winning in football and basketball is another problem all of its own). Obviously, fundraising is part of this --- but not all of it. W&M has always been underfunded and yet we still managed to win (more than) our share of championships in the past. What is the AD's plan for hiring/retaining coaches of the caliber who won many of those championships? (Crispino, Thompson, Daly, etc).

Everything you say we should do cost money; a lot of it.

No money no change 03-banghead

What's with the headbanging? What part of "in addition to the fundraising questions" and "Obviously, fundraising is part of this" indicates to you a lack of understanding of financial issues? However, I also made clear that financial issues alone are not the cause of our problems. Suddenly having a ton of money would not automatically make us winners next year. Those coaches I mentioned above did not leave/get forced out because they were dissatisfied with their salary. They left because the new AD (at the time) had a far different vision for athletics at W&M than they did. Unfortunately, it will take years to get new coaches to the point where they will be successful at W&M. That's not just a money issue and that is the question for the prospective ADs. 03-banghead
06-04-2021 04:57 PM
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Marshall Wythe Offline
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Post: #6
RE: W&M Athletics Director Interview Questions...which questions are most important?
I was thinking the same thing, Zorch. Fundraising is paramount for any AD. That has to be the first question as a threshold to entry.

But, past that, we have to hear how they'll handle William & Mary's unique situation. W&M is a smallish public school with high academic standards in a suburbanish, touristy area in a conference that isn't exactly filled with our peer institutions.

Somehow, prior coaches still found a way to win in that environment. How to do we get back to those winning ways?

We have to have the money first. But then we have to make smart decisions with that money. And ignoring the unique strengths, weaknesses, and culture of William & Mary will end in disaster even with sound fundraising.
06-04-2021 05:43 PM
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Tribal Offline
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W&M Athletics Director Interview Questions...which questions are most important?
Comparison is the thief of joy. I couldn't care less about meeting JMU's level of competition. We're nowhere near JMU at the moment. We *need* someone who will engage blue collar donors (Huge's greatest mistake), gain the trust of stakeholders, and take hard--maybe unpopular--decisions. We need someone who will probably have to cut sports to a manageable level and do it with transparency, comply with T9, and get people excited about our future. We've fallen so far since 2015.

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06-04-2021 10:00 PM
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RE: W&M Athletics Director Interview Questions...which questions are most important?
(06-04-2021 10:00 PM)Tribal Wrote:  Comparison is the thief of joy. I couldn't care less about meeting JMU's level of competition. We're nowhere near JMU at the moment. We *need* someone who will engage blue collar donors (Huge's greatest mistake), gain the trust of stakeholders, and take hard--maybe unpopular--decisions. We need someone who will probably have to cut sports to a manageable level and do it with transparency, comply with T9, and get people excited about our future. We've fallen so far since 2015.

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Curious how you define by blue collar donors / what exactly you mean by that? Do you mean just your "average" donors who are donated $100s per year, rather than $1000s per year?
06-07-2021 06:34 PM
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Tribal Offline
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W&M Athletics Director Interview Questions...which questions are most important?
Stratton and guys like him used to meet me for lunch in NoVA. Shaver used to mail handwritten thank you cards. That's when I used to give a couple thousand. Blue collar.

I know people (during the Huge era) who offered to donate $75k but wanted to discuss an agreement and Tribe Athletics refused to call back.

Then there are people like Martin who give out their personal cell phone numbers and will talk any place any time. I definitely don't expect that but, if I donate $2,000 - $20,000 (blue collar to more substantial), at least act like you care.

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06-07-2021 08:05 PM
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