蜜柚直播

鈥淎 man told me 鈥榠f you want to be someone, be like these people on the wall,鈥� 鈥� Heeke says now. 鈥淚t made an impact on me. Long before I came to 蜜柚直播, I was intrigued and interested in the University of 蜜柚直播. There was a definite attachment. To a degree, I idolized Ced Dempsey.鈥�

McKale built 蜜柚直播鈥檚 athletic department from scratch. He vowed not to let it be a UTEP or New Mexico State or NAU.

Decades later, Dempsey disassembled and rearranged the course of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 athletic department. Aided by latter day titans of UA athletic department history Mary Roby, John Perrin, Bob Bockrath and Rocky LaRose, Dempsey prepared 蜜柚直播 for its glory years, 1985-2000, a time it became one of the nation鈥檚 10 or 15 leading athletic departments.

McKale and Dempsey graduated from Albion a half-century apart, but they excelled at crisis management at 蜜柚直播. They were transformative leaders with get-this-done and do-the-right-thing instincts.

Now comes Dave Heeke, an Albion man, who faces a crisis of such magnitude that 20th-century terms like 鈥渢urning point鈥� and 鈥渕oment of truth鈥� are fully inadequate. It鈥檚 more like 鈥渮ero hour鈥� day after day.

鈥淪ometimes it feels like an inferno,鈥� Heeke says.

It is conceivable that the UA鈥檚 roughly $90 million athletic revenue of 2019 could be closer to $30 million or less in the coming fiscal year.

It isn鈥檛 a stretch to think that the UA athletic department staff of about 260 could be reduced by unimaginably smaller numbers in 2021.

If there is no Pac-12 football in the fall, Heeke says it will 鈥渇inancially decimate the conference.

If it gets to that, you have to question the size of our staff and what we do with all those folks. We鈥檝e basically cleaned out our war chest.鈥�

Every morning about 8:30, Heeke and the other Pac-12 athletic directors are linked for about 90 minutes in a Zoom conference to discuss every conceivable problem and potential strategic solutions related to the coronavirus pandemic. Health and finance have replaced talk of wins and losses.

Heeke, chairman of the league鈥檚 ADs, has been upfront and at the lead of the pack, the first to be transparent about the financial chaos his/her school is experiencing. He was among the first in the country 鈥� and one of the few 鈥� to announce that the entire athletic department will face salary reductions.

At a time many Power 5 athletic directors have chosen a quiet, in-the-bunker mentality, Heeke has been, like his Albion College predecessors, on the front lines.

鈥淭his goes six days a week,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hings are changing so rapidly that, frankly, it has been exhausting for our administrative team. It does wear on you, it really does.鈥�

Normally I wouldn鈥檛 quote a coach talking about his athletic director; it would typically be gratuitous and fluff. But volleyball coach Dave Rubio, on the job for 29 years at 蜜柚直播, has job security, perspective and a resume that separates him from cover-your-backside political chatter.

When Heeke met with all UA head coaches in a virtual meeting a month ago, detailing their salary reductions, Rubio saw it as a defining moment.

鈥淗e got very emotional,鈥� says Rubio. 鈥淚 like Dave, he鈥檚 such a good man. I think he鈥檚 genuine and sincere. He鈥檚 done a really good job of communicating about all that is going on; he鈥檚 been very transparent.

鈥淚t really hit him hard when he made the announcement of our (salary reductions). I think we all understand the sacrifices that are being made and that are going to continue to be made. I trust his leadership.鈥�

In his three years at 蜜柚直播, Heeke has stepped into some mud, Who doesn鈥檛? The hiring of Kevin Sumlin threatens to flat-line the school鈥檚 football program. The future of Sean Miller and 蜜柚直播 basketball is unsettling.

Compare that to the 20-year career of UCLA鈥檚 Dan Guerrero, the dean of Pac-12 athletic directors. Guerrero has fired five basketball/football coaches, all of whom he hired.

What鈥檚 happening now goes far beyond hiring the wrong coach.

What matters is how Heeke steers the UA athletic program back to financial health. He is certainly not hiding in the bunker.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no good road map for what we鈥檙e facing,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f this goes on for an extended period, the overall structure of college athletics is at risk. We鈥檒l have to repackage what we鈥檝e done for many years.鈥樷��

Scheduling would change. Travel budgets would shrink. The number of games would be reduced. The salary excesses of college sports would be contained at levels not seen since the 1990s.

McKale and Dempsey faced many of the same variables in the 1920s and 1980s, but not to the extent that greets Heeke with every sunrise.

鈥淲e all want to get back together,鈥� says Heeke. 鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful that sports could be the mechanism to rally the community and help us turn the corner.鈥�

While working from home for two months, Heeke and his wife, Liz, have found time to experience joy away from sports. Their two youngest sons, Zach and Max, completed their degree work online at Central Michigan University last week.

Zach鈥檚 senior year on the CMU baseball team was canceled. Max, who flew to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 men鈥檚 basketball tournament, was re-routed to 蜜柚直播, living with his parents for two months while completing his education.

鈥淵ou can get stir crazy hanging around with mom and dad for that long,鈥� Dave Heeke says with a laugh. 鈥淏ut thank goodness we鈥檙e all safe and healthy. It puts all of the other challenges we face in perspective.鈥�