The long hours and the politics that play such a big role in college athletics don’t seem to have dampened his enthusiasm for the job even though he was hesitant to apply for it when he found out Don Read was leaving back in 2005.
But that wasn’t the first time O’Day was skeptical about a job possibility. Same thing happened when he graduated from college.
While he felt pretty comfortable with what was going to face him as UM’s athletic director O’Day said there was one major adjustment.
“Coming from the private sector you’ve got to learn to be patient,” O’Day said. “Everything takes a lot of time and there’s a lot of politics involved. While you think what you’re going to do is right that’s not always perceived as right.”
Based on that, O’Day said he has to be ready to accept it when an idea is shot down and simply move on to perhaps fight another day.
While at the NCAA Convention visiting with colleagues from around the country O’Day got reinforcement for something he already felt strongly about n the quality of his department staff.
“People who are not 8-to-5ers Monday through Friday,” O’Day said. “These people put in a lot of time. They’re really dedicated toward it. They really believe in what they do.
“And that makes my job a lot easier.”
What he has found out by talking to counterparts from other schools n even some in the Big Sky Conference n is that they deal with greater challenges than he does, sometimes because of staff situations.
“I really believe that they’re underpaid, and underpaid even compared to a lot of our peers” O’Day said of his staff n a group he said is not necessarily driven by money. “But they just really believe in this place, in what the mission of the University of Montana and the athletic department is.”
Another source of pride is the academic standing of the more than 300 athletics that compete for UM. O’Day said overall the group just posted one of the highest grade point averages ever at the school n above a 3.1.
That’s even more important these days because of the academic progress requirement of the NCAA that means scholarship reductions for member institutions that don’t comply. For the first two years since the requirement was established UM has not lost a single scholarship.
Due to adjustments made in the rule by the NCAA O’Day said spring of 2008 could be a frightening time for institutions not keeping up with academic requirements.
The one thing that perhaps has caught O’Day off guard or taken him aback is the negative impact of successful programs that the average person might not anticipate. He said it’s becoming tougher for some of the UM teams to schedule home games without paying more inflated guarantees.
It’s a problem that started impacting football and men’s basketball a few years back and is not impacting women’s basketball as well. Noting that Lady Griz coach Robin Selvig seldom asks for anything, O’Day was a little surprised when the veteran coach came to him with this problem.
Selvig told his boss that teams used to come to Missoula for a guarantee of $2,000 or $3,000. Now they want at least $10,000.
“Everyone says, well, they’d love to come in here and play,’” O’Day pointed out. “Well, no, teams don’t love to come in here and play because they’re probably going to get beat.”
While many football programs are willing to schedule road games with other Big Sky Conference teams for a guarantee of $30,000 or $50,000, O’Day said the asking price from teams coming to Missoula often is $125,000 or more. Sure, they love the environment, but if they’re likely to lose, it has to be worth their while, he pointed out.
“That’s a testament to the success of the program,” O’Day noted. “And that’s kind of out of your control and yet it’s a real financial issue.”
The problem is compounded by the guarantees being offered by other schools in the region. O’Day said Gonzaga men’s basketball will guarantee $30,000 to visiting teams and the University of Washington $100,000 in some cases.
“If you’re a (Division One) school like South Dakota State,” O’Day said, “would you rather go to Montana for $20,000 and probably get beat or Washington for $100,000 and get beat. You’re getting beat by a Division One school either way.”
And there’s one more thing n the difficulty and expense of traveling to Missoula. O’Day foresees having to offer $125,000 or more to nonconference football opponents because those teams know it likely will cost them $100,000 to get to Missoula. Boise State has been offering teams $185,000 n not that much more than what UM will have to offer. Again, it’s pick your poison, so why not go for the bigger bucks.
O’Day and UM also have to deal with the perception that money isn’t an issue here when in fact, he said, it’s not much different here than it is at other league schools.
“We’re able to produce almost $8 million a year in private funds of our $11 million budget,” he added, “and most of the (Big Sky) schools are two, three and four million.”
By comparison Sacramento State generates about $6 million just from student fees. But Sac State offers 20 sports while nearby UC Davis offers 26 within its $16 million budget.
Looking at facility needs, O’Day said he’s satisfied that the football stadium will be expanded by 2,000 seats rather than the 4,000 originally talked about by some. He thinks 2,000 will take care of game-day needs, additional student needs and finding a place for former suite holders who decide not to renew their stadium box leases.
It also will help various campus departments who like to take prospective students or faculty to football games and can’t find tickets. It also should help take care of shortages for events such as Homecoming or Parents’ Weekend.
Original discussions also included the possibility of adding suites and building a new press box on the west side of the stadium. O’Day said those things will have to come later.
Other projects O’Day said need to be addressed would include a new football locker room, and additional academic space for student-athletes to use, and additional meeting space. The new football locker room project also could include a separate strength and conditioning facility, freeing up more time for the athletes from UM’s other sports to use the current area.
When the academic facility n complete with computer terminals n was built in the 1990s the thought was that it would be sufficient for a long time.
“It became so popular that we need two or three times that size,” O’Day said of the space student-athletes use to study when they have short breaks during the school day or between school and practice times.
“We’re looking at all options,” O’Day said. “Again it comes down to cost. Nothing is cheap anymore.”
By comparison O’Day said it cost about $6 million to build Washington-Grizzly Stadium back in the mid 1980s. The addition of 2,000 seats on the east side will cost upwards of $5 million.
But given all that, O’Day still talked about how fortunate Missoula is to have a college athletic program at such a high level. He knows it’s due in large part to tremendous fan and private donor support.
“I don’t think we realize how special it really is,” he said. “There’s something very special going on here, and we’re doing it the right way. Our coaches do it the right way. They get a lot of great student-athletes.”
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