Oct. 24 update: The ASUCD has organized a forum to gather more input from students. The ASUCD forum is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in Ballroom A at the Activities and Recreation Center.

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi has announced the appointment of an advisory committee to help recruit a new director of athletics for UC Davis.

The new director “will be a critically important hire for UC Davis, not only for our Intercollegiate Athletics program but also for the campus as a whole as we aspire to meet our collective vision of excellence,” Katehi said in her Oct. 5 letter to members of the advisory committee.

“Today, four years into our successful transition to Division I, our Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) program is at a crossroads. Whichever future direction we take — and whomever we choose to lead athletics in that direction — will help define the overall reputation of UC Davis as a world-class public research university.”

UC Davis moved from Division II to the more competitive Division I in 2007. Longtime Director of Athletics Greg Warzecka announced his retirement on June 30, after 16 years in the post. Nona Richardson, executive senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at UC Davis, has been serving as interim athletics director.

In her letter to the recruitment advisory committee, Katehi wrote that she is “committed to UC Davis’ remaining and thriving in Division I athletics. I am very proud of our Intercollegiate Athletics program, and I am convinced that it was the right decision to make the move to Division I, especially for the future.”

But, she pointed out, there are different paths open to UC Davis: “We must work together to choose the best fit for our university and our student-athletes, and to choose the right athletics director to lead the way.”

Athletics Strategic Audit 2011

As part of the recruitment process, Katehi called on the advisory committee to review the findings and recommendations of the newly released UC Davis Athletics Strategic Audit 2011. Among other things, the report recommends that the campus “evaluate and adjust” its “guiding principles” for Division I competition.

The audit also recommends improving facilities for student-athletes and spectators, reviewing the “teacher-coach” model, and deferring whether to compete at a higher tier of Division I until UC Davis athletics has achieved a track record of proven competitive success and has high levels of financial capabilities.

She also called on the committee to seek input, advice and consent from the broader UC Davis community on a variety of questions, including: the best future direction for ICA; the community’s sense of the program’s strengths and challenges; and an outline of the desired qualifications, experience and vision of the next director of athletics.

Student Affairs Vice Chancellor Fred Wood chairs the newly created 15-member advisory committee, which includes faculty, staff, student, coach and alumni representatives. 

Consultant says UC Davis 'rightly proud'

Cedric W. Dempsey of Cedric Dempsey Consulting prepared the report. Dempsey served as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association from 1994 to 2002, and as an athletic director, coach and athlete at all three levels of NCAA competition.

Dempsey, who will work as a consultant to the advisory committee to help find the new director of athletics, said the campus is "rightly proud" that, even with its transition from Division II to Division I competition, student-athletes continue to perform well in the classroom.

"However,” he wrote in his report, “challenges exist to re-establish the ICA program to the competitive level of excellence of its past and to a level that is consistent with the Vision of Excellence for the campus as a whole.” Today, an estimated 614 student-athletes compete in 23 NCAA Division I varsity sports at UC Davis.

Katehi urged the advisory committee to encourage input from interested parties. Toward that end, Wood has scheduled two town hall meetings:

• Thursday, Oct. 13 — 5-6:30 p.m., Activities and Recreation Center Ballroom
• Wednesday, Oct. 26 — 5-6:30 p.m., Conference Center Ballroom.

Oct. 24 update: The ASUCD has organized a forum to gather more input from students. The ASUCD forum is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in Ballroom A at the Activities and Recreation Center.

The campus also has set up an e-mail account for thoughts and suggestions: athletics@ucdavis.edu.

“I am confident,” the chancellor wrote in her letter, “that taking these steps to be inclusive will help lead to a true consensus regarding a successful future for Intercollegiate Athletics at UC Davis.”

A special website includes the chancellor's Oct. 5 letter launching the recruitment advisory committee and the UC Davis Athletics Strategic Audit 2011.