ILLINOIS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR (Odds)

"Smile," Ron Guenther said at a press conference announcing his hiring as the eighth athletic director in Illinois history in May 1992. "I guarantee you this is going to be a lot of fun over the next decade.

And indeed it has been.

Guenther's done an excellent job in directing his alma mater's athletics programs. When U.S. News & World Report recognized America's best college athletic departments in the magazine's March 18, 2002, issue, Illinois was one of 20 schools that made the magazine's honor roll. All 321 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I colleges were ranked in five categories, including athletic success, gender equity, graduation rates, number of sports offered and official sanctions.

As Illinois AD, Guenther hired current KU men's basketball coach Bill Self in 2000.

During his tenure at Illinois, Ron Guenther has been instrumental in hiring of several notable coaches and administrators and the addition of women's soccer.

During the 2001-2002 school year, Illinois won conference championships in three sports - football, men's basketball and tennis. Guenther, who says "we're committed to chasing conference championships in all our sports," maintains he values the success of each team. That's good news for athletes competing in sports that don't bring in the big bucks (according to the UI Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, revenue from last year's football ticket sales and television revenue totaled $14.6 million; for men's basketball, $7.3 million).

Overall Illinois remains one of the most successful athletic programs in the country, finishing 30th in the 2001/2002 Sears Directors Cup standings, a rating system that ranks athletic achievement across the board and awards points for success in individual and team sports.

Guenther's quality over quantity approach has resulted in an aggressive pursuit of superior athletic facilities to attract the world's best athletes and coaches. In the last decade, Guenther has orchestrated the construction of the Irwin Academic Center, the Ubben Basketball Practice Facility, the Irwin Indoor Practice Facility, the Bielfeldt Administration Building and softball's Eichelberger Field. Recent renovations have also been made to Assembly Hall, Huff Hall, baseball's Illinois Field and the Outdoor Track and Field and Soccer Stadium. Construction was also recently completed on Memorial Stadium where a video scoreboard was added and improvements were made to the locker rooms, thanks to the Chicago Bears, who are playing in Champaign while renovations are made to their own Soldier Field.

Would he really come to a school that stole his men's basketball coach? His statement after Self's departure wasn't printable, and it's possible his response to any inquiry from the KU search committee would be the same.

Guenther gets his love of Illini athletics honestly -- from the beginning, the second-team all-conference pick was engulfed in the glory days of Illinois football.

The 56-year old Guenther was a two-year letterman for the Illini from 1964 to 1966 and the team's Most Valuable Player his senior season in the 1960s. Guenther, whose brother played football at Illinois State, also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors while wearing the orange and blue.

He earned a B.S. in physical education and M.A. in administration from the University of Illinois.

Guenther began his career as a teacher and coach for two suburban high schools before landing a job as offensive line coach at Boston College. He moved on to North Central College, then began a stint as assistant athletic director for Chicago operations. He then had been serving as the director of major gifts for the University of Illinois Foundation since September 1990.

After a national search that lasted more than five months, Guenther was named University of Illinois athletic director in May 1992. Guenther edged Illinois State AD Ron Wellman and Bob Todd, who was Illinois' interim AD after John Mackovic resigned the position in December 1991.

"Choosing our new director of athletics was a very difficult decision because we had three very well-qualified finalists," Then-Illinois Chancellor Morton Weir said. "As I worked with them, Ron Guenther clearly emerged as the person with whom I wanted to work."

"I cannot think of anyone more ideally suited for the athletic directorship than Ron Guenther," UI Foundation Executive Director B.A. Nugent said.

"Guenther is a scholar-athlete. He understands the academic institution. He's a fine manager, a fine leader and he understands the world of athletics.

"From my perspective, there are four primary components that need to be brought together," Guenther said. "They are the student-athletes, coaches, the university administration and the nationwide network of responsible alumni. If all forces can be mobilized and unified, the University of Illinois can have a quality athletic program for years to come."

Weir thought Guenther was the perfect choice, saying he liked Guenther's views on academic progress of athletes, evaluation of coaches and gender equity, as well as his reputation in the state.

-- Courtesy Illinois Sports Information