UMass Magazine Online

Spring 2004

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The Wildest Place in Boston

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Setting the Record Straight

Around the Pond

No Time to Waste
UMass's new athletic director hits the ground running




	UMass Athletic Director John McCutcheon (photo by Ben Barnhart).

BEFORE HIS FIRST OFFICIAL DAY at UMass, John McCutcheon, the campus’s new athletic director, had a daunting to-do list. His first priority: hire a new head football coach. Before he’d had a chance to move his family cross-country, he ticked off that item, bringing former assistant coach Don Brown back to Minutemen ranks. (See story, page 18.)

McCutcheon, a native of Pittsburgh, had been athletic director at California Polytechnic State University for 12 years, but is no stranger to the Northeast. He worked in the athletic department of University of Maine, Orono, in the late 1970s, and at Boston College from 1980 to 1992, serving as associate athletic director for his last year there before leaving to take the top post at Cal Poly. McCutcheon’s in-laws live in Massachusetts.

Members of the search committee said McCutcheon was their top choice among six finalists because of his experiences at Cal Poly. McCutcheon led that university’s transformation from a Division II school to Division I despite cuts in public funding for higher education. He faces a similar challenge at UMass as the athletic department has weathered two budget cuts in the past two years.

“The university was up front with me on where we stood in this process. Having come from an environment like this, I’m not going into this with my eyes closed,” said McCutcheon. “I know there are some challenges. But I think the potential for rewards despite those challenges is fantastic.”

McCutcheon was on campus permanently as of March 1, intent on outlining a long-term vision for the department. “We want to create an atmosphere where our student athletes feel good about being here and our coaches love to come to work in the morning and our fans are excited to come to events,” said McCutcheon.

The new athletic director began by filling more positions—in the ticket office, the business office, media relations and facilities. “We’re looking for people that want to be here, who have a positive attitude. If we don’t have resources in one area we’ll work to get them and we’ll be as productive as we can with what we have.”
http://umassathletics.collegesports.com/

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