UDPride Way Back Machine 3/13/01: Catching Up With Ted Kissell

[Chris R]

I discovered a bunch of backup disks a few weeks ago with a lot of old UDPride stories on them. Been posting some on social media but I thought I would post this one again. If you like this content during your social distancing and lack of things to watch on TV, let me know and I will post some more as I cross paths with them.


The University of Dayton athletics department appears to be on solid footing these days, but according to UD Director of Athletics and University VP Ted Kissell, the Flyers can and will do better. As the University enters a new century, many wonder how its current leadership will leverage the past to move UD forward.

Times have most certainly changed since the days Tom Blackburn and Harry Baujan. Major Division I athletics programs can be, and often are, big business. At schools like Ohio State, North Carolina, Duke, and Notre Dame, collegiate athletics generate substantial benefits felt throughout the entire university. Facilities improve, scholarships increase, donations from satisfied alumni grow, and the notoriety often helps enrollment.


Unfortunately, the rich tend to get richer within this elite faction, and the rest are relegated to “mid-major” status and beyond. Ted Kissell took time to discuss the current state of things with UDPride and where the University of Dayton currently finds itself in the big business of collegiate athletics.

Today’s Environment

UDP: Last year when we spoke, you discussed some of the early challenges facing you and your staff. One such challenge was marketing capacity, or lack thereof, early on in your tenure. The fan support is there, but how would you characterize UD’s appeal to corporate America today?

TK: Our general strategy is to have fewer partners at a higher level. This prevents the arena from appearing cluttered with signage and offers value to the partner through category exclusivity. This is an area where we have been innovative. We are no longer “selling signs,” but customizing partnerships to deliver tangible business results for our partners. So, our appeal is based on working with the partner to strategize how a partnership with UD can produce results. This differs from the standard approach of selling pre-determined “packages,” signs, and the value of sports marketing and the association with the institution generally. We track business results for our partners. In the past three years revenue from corporate partners has increased by $500,000 per year.

UDP: Has Dayton attained any television bargaining power through its recent success and is it a priority right now? Has UD Arena’s increasing reputation as a great college basketball environment helped the cause with networks like Fox or ESPN?

TK: Television contracts are negotiated through conferences, unless you’re Notre Dame. Therefore, our bargaining power is the collective bargaining power of the A-10. TV is always a priority because of its importance in recruiting. For example, we would gladly play a one-way game (no return) to be on national TV. The ESPN people know this. Frankly, our reputation as a great basketball environment has not changed. Industry insiders were already aware of it.The A-10 contract is with ESPN. The A-10 negotiates the number of appearances and then ESPN decides which teams fill those slots. Our current contract, which expires this year, guarantees that each team in the conference will be on once. The A-10 then produces its own games, the A-10 network, from the remaining inventory and syndicates the games regionally (Fox Sports Ohio in Dayton). UD takes the remaining slate of its games to WHIO. The end result is that we have only a handful of games that are not televised.

UDP: Obviously, a friend of any aggressive marketing campaign is a top-flight conference affiliation. Dayton has made great strides in developing an all-around athletics program. Is the Atlantic-10 conference committed to excellence in sports other than basketball, or will the league continue to live and die by the year-to-year reputation of its men’s basketball programs.

TK: Simply put, the A-10 is not committed to excellence beyond basketball. The common denominator of nationally competitive total sports programs is revenue from financially successful I-A football. Institutions lacking that kind of funding will be successful in a non-revenue sport or two, say men’s soccer or lacrosse or field hockey, but not across the board.To take it a step further, not all of the A-10 institutions currently fund their men’s basketball programs at a “national” level. Compare this to our regional rival the Big East: our top teams can and do play with theirs, but the breadth of strong commitment runs throughout their league. That’s why Providence and Boston College can rise from the ashes.We have had general conversations in the A-10 about selecting certain sports for excellence, which the Big East recently did, but no action to date.

Economic Juggernaut

UDP: There’s no denying which program fuels Dayton’s desire to be, at least regionally, competitive in all sports. How close is UD to matching Notre Dame’s commitment to having a fully funded compliment of D-1 scholarship sports? Can U. Dayton attain this goal on athletic revenue, basketball specifically, and fundraising alone?

TK: We are not on the same planet as Notre Dame. Essentially, they fund scholarships to the NCAA maximum in every sport; we do that in men’s and women’s basketball only. The Irish awarded 238 scholarships in 98-99, the last published data. Take away 85 football grants, that’s 153 for all other sports; we were at 76 this year. Our current total scholarship funding places us 12th of 12 in the A-10 (including Richmond). Next year will be the final year of a multi-year plan the intent of which was to provide institutional funding for scholarships to position us in the middle of the A-10.

Unfortunately, others have advanced as well, and we will remain at or near the bottom. This should put into perspective the achievements of our coaches and student-athletes when as a total sports program we finished fifth in the Commissioner’s Cup last year.Given the reality of our resources, we do not have a goal to be “at least regionally competitive” in all sports. Our strategy is one of selective excellence. Essentially our choice is to be across the board mediocre or selectively excellent. That’s an easy choice, in my view, but one that many ADs are reluctant to make. We provide the resources for men’s and women’s basketball and football (at the non-scholarship level) to compete nationally. Men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball are at the next tier, followed by the team sports of baseball and softball + track and field. The other individual sports (one scholarship total for each program) and rowing (non-scholarship) are resourced to provide a rewarding intercollegiate experience for the student-athletes, but not for competitive success.We can advance our sports programs by fundraising, specifically for facilities. Facilities do not add significantly to your annual operating costs; so facilities are a cost-effective way to improve your programs, assuming that private donations fund the project.

UDP: It’s reasonable to assume that the North Carolinas and Notre Dames of the world have benefited in many ways from the financial and promotional effects of their overall athletics program. Would it be worthwhile for the University to kick in additional funding to try and cultivate some of these benefits?

TK: We will make a pitch for greater funding, but the purpose will be to be competitive in institutional scholarship funding with the private schools in the A-10. Women’s soccer could be a lever for national recognition; so could women’s basketball, perhaps men’s soccer.

UDP: Has there been any discussion about adding home-away games to the men’s basketball schedule with fresh faces like Utah, Charlotte, UCLA or NC State? Does playing a one-shot deal on the road at a Stanford or Duke benefit the program, especially in years when the team is not in a high-profile tournament.

TK: A one-shot deal needs to be on national TV, otherwise, why do it? This

topic requires a context that some of your readers aren’t aware of, so here goes. The Xavier AD and I were just discussing the other day how difficult it is to schedule a series with one of the BCS or Big 6 leagues (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Pac 10, Big 12, and Big East). We get turned down again and again. They don’t want to risk losing to a “mid-major.” Skip Prosser’s recent quote: “people think only six leagues are playing real basketball; they think the rest of us are playing intramurals.” Those six leagues keep getting more and more powerful at the expense of the rest of us.

They control governance under the new NCAA structure, they benefit from multi-million corporate deals, they enjoy multi-million dollar TV deals and greater exposure, new revenue pours in from the BCS bowl arrangement ($100 million annually) and the conference championship football games (Big 12 and SEC). Look at the top twenty-five in men’s basketball, check out the RPI rankings, see who’s in the tournament, see who’s in the Final Four. In the past ten years only four schools outside those conferences have been in the Final Four: UNLV, Cincinnati, Massachusetts, and Utah. The last private Catholic school in the Final Four was Seton Hall in 1989. If the season were to end tomorrow, two solid leagues, the A-10 and C-USA, might get only one at-large between them if UC and either St. Joe’s or Xavier won the automatic. It’s not inconceivable that the Big 6 will snag 30 of the 34 at-large berths. And with the new $6 billion CBS contract the value of a unit (one unit for each game played in the NCAA tournament) will be $1 million in three years. The separation between those six leagues and the rest of us continues to widen.We will travel anywhere to play a good team a home-and-home series.

UDP: Do you foresee scheduling more towards indexes like the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) to court favor with the NCAA Selection Committee, or a continuation of the A-10 philosophy to schedule tough non-conference games even if the losses pile up?

TK: We at Dayton are extremely purposeful about managing to RPI. We will revisit our scheduling philosophy as a league at the spring meetings. We are inviting the head of NCAA Statistical Services (yes, the RPI people really exist!). It got my attention that the WAC has moved ahead of us as a league in certain polls, and their non-conference schedule strength is poor. Of course, they won those games, as you suggest.

UD Arena

UDP: The new scoreboards are a nice addition. As far as future renovations, what’s been proposed, what’s been decided and what kind of timetable?

TK: I’ll know more here in a couple of months. Let me take a rain check. Please bump me with the same question in May/June and my response will be more definitive.

UDP: Much has been made of UD Arena’s standing among the all-time great NCAA Tournament venues. Will that reputation help land future NCAA events, in the wake of increasing capacity requirements?\

TK: We have not had an indication that our seating capacity of 13,000+ will deal us out. On the contrary, the NCAA states that having 1st and 2nd round games at campus sites is something that they consciously manage to. Our reputation means a lot; however, we must stay current with technology, media requirements, amenities, etc. to be in the queue.

UDP: Many fans are curious as to why the Atlantic-10 tournament is not rotated among all schools in the conference. With UD Arena’s great television appeal and crowds plus some of the other new A-10 venues coming online, will that philosophy be reconsidered in the future?

TK: As a league, we discussed the issue of rotation and asked schools to present proposals two years ago. We at Dayton provided the most financially attractive guarantee – a substantial revenue increase for the league. However, it was decided that maintaining the Philadelphia identity of the league was the greater priority. TV coverage is determined by conference contract as I mentioned above.Quick Hitters

UDP: How are the renovations to Baujan Field progressing, and have you placed a timetable for specific improvements to it.

TK: The stadium terrace has been a terrific addition by any measure: fan enjoyment, aesthetics, image for recruiting. Any further enhancements to Baujan Field will be as the result of private donations, so, it’s not possible to determine project scope or timing.

UDP: Any other notable upgrades in other UD athletic facilities, including the PAC?

TK: The PAC is under the oversight of Student Development, not Athletics. We are moving ahead this spring with the first phase of upgrades to baseball and softball at Stuart Field. We are putting in a retaining wall behind the baseball field that will allow installation of bleacher seating for 500+. We will add the same amount of bleacher seating for softball. Concrete walkways to both facilities will improve access. We hope to have this completed for the A-10 softball tournament which we host this spring.
Later phases will include brick dugouts for both the men and women, a baseball press box and walkway that joins the two facilities.

UDP: On a personal note, any big plans, activities or trips planned for the upcoming year?

TK: Big plans indeed! I will be traveling with the men’s basketball team to Australia this spring. I’m a former history teacher and will be teaching a one credit, pass/fail course to the players. I’m excited about it. I’ve been doing background reading this winter. My goal is to provide a context and coherence for their experience. I’ve also taught English, so they’ll be writing journals.I will also head to Pinehurst for three days of golf in mid-April.

* Thanks for Dave Palmere for spearheading this original article

	Ted Kissell TED KISSELL Athletic Director at the University of Dayton from 1993-2008. Helped spearhead a renewed commitment to athletic excellence by hiring Oliver Purnell to resurrect the men's basketball program, and emphasized major non-revenue sports to raise UD's profile. Helped UD receive an invitation to the A10 Conference, developed new baseball, softball, soccer, football, and basketball facility upgrades, and achieved NCAA appearances in men's basketball, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball -- the latter three being program's firsts. Also served as UD's Vice President and improved overall academic performance among student athletes.

[The Fly]

Fun to re-read this and realize how far the entire athletics program has advanced in 20 years. Kissell gave it a much-needed kick in the butt. Our facilities and on-field performances have elevated our overall profile. Sad to say our league affiliation is now Dayton’s weakest link. And I say that knowing full well we’ve still not dominated it in any sport save volleyball and, to a certain extent, women’s basketball. But as Kissell said about us and Notre Dame, most league teams (save two or three) aren’t on the same planet as us when it comes to facilities and investment.

Thanks for posting, Chris!

	Ted Kissell TED KISSELL Athletic Director at the University of Dayton from 1993-2008. Helped spearhead a renewed commitment to athletic excellence by hiring Oliver Purnell to resurrect the men's basketball program, and emphasized major non-revenue sports to raise UD's profile. Helped UD receive an invitation to the A10 Conference, developed new baseball, softball, soccer, football, and basketball facility upgrades, and achieved NCAA appearances in men's basketball, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball -- the latter three being program's firsts. Also served as UD's Vice President and improved overall academic performance among student athletes.

[TX Flyer]

“ A one-shot deal needs to be on national TV, otherwise, why do it?”

This is why we have the schedule we have and the A10. Nearly 20 years ago we were afraid to leave the arena and try to be like Gonzaga like everyone here says we need to be

[Sea Bass]

I still remember Kissell was going to hire Mike Deane. He lucked into Purnell.

	Ted Kissell TED KISSELL Athletic Director at the University of Dayton from 1993-2008. Helped spearhead a renewed commitment to athletic excellence by hiring Oliver Purnell to resurrect the men's basketball program, and emphasized major non-revenue sports to raise UD's profile. Helped UD receive an invitation to the A10 Conference, developed new baseball, softball, soccer, football, and basketball facility upgrades, and achieved NCAA appearances in men's basketball, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball -- the latter three being program's firsts. Also served as UD's Vice President and improved overall academic performance among student athletes.

[Bill McPeek]

I remember Kissell speaking to a number of us alumni one of the two years the A-10 tournament played in Dayton. He discussed the impending breakup of the Big East......basketball schools vs. football schools. He said that "Dayton and Xavier were tied at the hip" regarding the future. I guess Xavier didn't get the memo.

	Xavier XAVIER MUSKETEERS Dayton's biggest rival dating back to the early 1900s. Founded in 1831, Xavier University is a Jesuit, Catholic university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its three colleges offer 78 undergraduate majors, 43 minors and 11 graduate programs to 6,646 total students, including 3,961 undergraduates. The University is the sixth-oldest Catholic university in the nation and one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities nationwide. Xavier's nickname is the Musketeers and are fellow A10 Conference members.

	Ted Kissell TED KISSELL Athletic Director at the University of Dayton from 1993-2008. Helped spearhead a renewed commitment to athletic excellence by hiring Oliver Purnell to resurrect the men's basketball program, and emphasized major non-revenue sports to raise UD's profile. Helped UD receive an invitation to the A10 Conference, developed new baseball, softball, soccer, football, and basketball facility upgrades, and achieved NCAA appearances in men's basketball, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball -- the latter three being program's firsts. Also served as UD's Vice President and improved overall academic performance among student athletes.

[Bill McPeek]

I really enjoyed reading this Chris!

[rollo]

After reading that, I feel really old.

[SeasonTicketFan]

I remember Ted talking often about the breakup of the Big East due to the differences between the football schools and the basketball only schools. He was spot on with that analysis. He was not spot on when he said UD would be ready for it and would join the basketball schools.