DAYTON (OH) — Ted Kissell is getting his life back. After 16 years of strong leadership inside the UD athletic department, he’s going back to the things that matter most – family, tennis, and perhaps sitting on the couch all weekend with a bag of potato chips. Those are the things you miss when saddled with the responsibility of running a major D-I athletics program. Work insane hours all week maintaining proper R&D, then spend evenings and weekends at sporting events when most people are off the clock. It’s a job that never sleeps; just one more thing Kissell will enjoy after he steps down from his post.

That’s not to say Ted grew tired of his job. If he did, he never showed it. At times I wondered if he had body doubles waiting to attend fish frys, chalk talks, leadership meetings, and state-of-the-union speeches because Ted was everywhere to be seen in a well tailored suit or Flyer polo. That’s what I will miss most. Say what you want about the legacy he leaves – and many already have – but Ted Kissell truly enjoyed embracing the UD spirit with others. Whether you were John McHale or John from row K in the 400s of UD Arena, he made time to listen and interact. No patron of UD was too unimportant and unlike a lot of yo-yos in a position of power, Ted was and still is a good listener. Constructive criticism was encouraged and philosophies were never personal. Oftentimes Ted would lay out the realities knowing his answer wasn’t going to please the vocal majority, but he never engaged in a battle for popularity.

At UD’s worst, the department needed a renaissance man willing to embrace the Flyer tradition and culture but courageous enough to turn a few heads and shake some trees. Ted’s first move was to pink slip Jim O’Brien and hire Oliver Purnell at a moment when Dayton athletics had nothing going for it. The process was made all the more interesting when first choice Mike Deane all but committed and subsequently bolted for Marquette. Never one to panic, Kissell re-focused and found another candidate that was even better. That candidate was also the first minority coach ever hired by the university. It was Ted’s recommendation.

The university was without an athletic conference as Great Midwest schools dropped the Flyers like a bad habit. As Kissell accurately recalls time and again, UD traded on tradition and fan base one final time to bargain their way into the Atlantic10.

Major changes were needed — some of them unpopular. The Arena Seating Contribution system was introduced to replenish the piggy bank with sufficient funds to run a D-I athletics program like a first-rate university. At a time when UD was abysmal on the playing field, it’s never an easy sell to ask for more money. After all, how much pain can fans endure? Ted spelled out the plan and promised the call to action had to be a team effort. Today, seat licenses are as common as oxygen and water, but at the time it was a relatively new concept at the college level.

He also recognized that only a broad-based athletics program would ever meet the approval of future leagues looking to expand and attract the best members. A primary reason Notre Dame left the MCC was because their athletic program was largely unchallenged and lacked competition inside the conference. Not only was UD bottom-tier in basketball, but most other sports as well. The A10 was a second chance after the Great Midwest fallout. The school identified three sports as Tier-1 programs that had the geography, regional talent pools, and coaching resources to compete at the national level. From there, basketball, soccer, and volleyball would go on to define Dayton’s best and brightest accomplishments over the next decade. Before it started, men’s basketball was the only sport to ever reach the D-I NCAA tournament. In 2008, fans interact with other sports and talk about NCAA bids like they are yearly expectations (they are). None of the progress would have been made were it not for the Flyer Faithful opening their wallets, nevermind an AD demonstrating the guts to pass the money plate at a time when the idea met significant unpopularity.

The unprecedented success in Kissell’s tenure speaks for itself. Dozens of A10 regular season and tournament championships, All-Americans in multiple sports, NCAA bids and postseason tournament victories, and a pretty good second hire at the helm of the men’s basketball program in Brian Gregory. Jim Jabir isn’t looking too shabby either. All the while, the department managed to keep proper focus in the classroom as UD’s graduation rates and academic score remain nationally prominent.

The body of work is tremendous if placed in the context of where we were and where we are now. Among the bricks and mortar projects realized: construction of the Donoher Center, UD Arena renovations, Baujan Field’s new terrace and playing surface, new baseball and softball stadiums, Frericks Center enhancements, and improved football and track practice facilities all came under Kissell’s watch.

Scholarship funding has more than doubled, allowing coaches like Jim Jabir, Mike Tucker, Dave Schureck, Dennis Currier, Tim Horsmon, and Kelly Sheffield to attract some of the top prep talent in the country (all of which were Kissell hires). Dayton now has a selling point beyond Don Meineke and Harry Baujan. It’s real and it’s impressive. NCAA athletics are far too competitive anymore to have one program carry 12-15 other boat anchors. Other schools are excelling in all areas and Dayton recognized they must do the same.

Ted would be the first to admit progress is still needed. The Brooks Hall/Clay Mathile saga was something Ted had to perform damage control on. The men’s basketball program was placed on probation and lost a scholarship. The women’s basketball program struck out on Clemette Haskins and Jaci Clark — though one would have trouble faulting the hiring of Clark. Perhaps most important in the minds of UD fans, men’s basketball remains unable to win NCAA tournament games and compete with long-time rival Xavier. Certainly those issues are being addressed behind closed doors, but even this writer admits the wait is filled with intense jealousy at the School Down South. We all sense the same frustration.

It’s safe to say money and patience are two mechanisms the Flyer Faithful will once again be asked to give. It’s not a perfect world when the marquee sport continues to struggle to get over the hump. UD is aware.

It has been a rewarding experience to have Ted Kissell open his door to not only myself but others that have represented UDPride and asked for his time. On several occasions he has gone out of his way to say things publicly about our Web community that was gracious and entirely unnecessary. We consider ourselves nothing more than conduits of the Flyer Faithful, and represent the best interests of those who care most about the program. With 12 years under our belt, perhaps that has afforded us more credibility than most Internet fan zones typically receive. Ted always treated us like any other member of the media and while we’ve done our best to remain occasional and non-intrusive with his time, the answers we received were thoughtful, complete, and painfully truthful at times. A reporter can’t ask for more than that. I can assure you that UD decision makers follow UDPride closely. Your opinions and discussions are great resources and provide them an ear to the ground that is immediate and direct.

We expect nothing less from future AD Tim Wabler. We’ve crossed paths with Tim for just as long and he’s equally engaging, thoughtful, and consumed with Flyer spirit. Being a UD man, he needs no introduction to the unique dynamic that makes Flyer athletics so special. All of you are a major component of that. It’s a safe bet that wherever Ted’s fingerprints stuck over the last 10 years, Tim’s were close by. I expect nothing but great things as he takes over and look forward to seeing Tim handle the job with his own approach and insight.

Few people know what a great sense of humor Ted Kissell has. Most fans only catch the television sound bites or newspaper quotes, but there’s a side to Ted that was subtle and endearing. At a Flyer chalk talk in the UD Arena’s Boesch Lounge last year, fans gathered as they listened to Kissell speak about conference alignments, NCAA tournament tickets, scheduling, and the health of Chris Wright. Finished speaking, he asked the fans if there were any questions. A gentleman raised his hand and asked the first one.

“I hear you may be stepping down soon. Can you tell us when?”
Ted raised his eyebrows and in a playful voice said, “Wow.”

The question was sincere and Ted followed it up with a sincere answer, but it was just one example of a man capable of finding humor – mostly at the expense of himself – within the company of friends.

Those friends will still be here even after he clears his desk and recaptures lost time with his family, clicker, and favorite easy chair. Ted will continue to follow the Flyers — only with less stress and fewer cell phone minutes. No tenure of empowerment is ever perfect, but Ted Kissell leaves UD better than he found it. Rather than opine about the work yet to be done, I can’t help but give thanks for the blood, sweat, and tears to get us where we are. It’s not Oz, but it’s far closer to perfection than perdition.