COLORADO STATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR (Odds)

After 11 years at the University of Connecticut, where he was Executive Associate Athletic Director, Jeff Hathaway headed west to assume the Athletic Director position at Colorado State University in August of 2001. He began his duties at CSU Sept. 1 -- the day of the CSU vs. University of Colorado football game.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join another first-class university like CSU," Hathaway told the Hartford Courant. "It's an honor. It's very similar to the other two places I have worked -- Maryland and the University of Connecticut. It's a fantastic feeling."

Hathaway, 42, beat out two other finalists -- Dayton Athletic Director Ted Kissell and Notre Dame Associate Athletic Director Lawrence "Bubba" Cunningham. He has agreed to a five-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed as of Wednesday evening, but Hathaway's base salary at UConn last year was $147,266. According to the Courant, UConn officials said Hathaway receives additional compensation of $20,711, bringing his total package to $167,977. Former Colorado State athletic director Tim Weiser, a former assistant AD under Perkins at Wichita State, received a base salary of $150,000 and left for $250,000 at Kansas State.

Hathaway replaced Tim Weiser, who left the Rams to take the AD job with KU-rival Kansas State.

CSU president Albert Yates said he was happy with the candidates and with the final selection.

"I am quite pleased by the level of interest in the athletic director¹s position at Colorado State University. There was a quality pool of individuals who were attracted to the position," Yates said in a CSU press release. "I am especially enthusiastic about the appointment of Jeff Hathaway as director of athletics. I believe strongly that he is, indeed, the right person to lead CSU¹s program at this time. Though Jeffrey is not presently a Œsitting¹ athletic director, from all inquiries, he has demonstrated to us that he has all of the requisite skills to assure continued success and growth of the program."

Went to Colorado State just two years ago. Would he really follow Weiser's career path by coming to the Big 12 Conference?

Hiring a candidate who has "sat in the chair" or served as an AD before was supposedly one of Dr. Yates' main objectives. Kissell was the only of the three finalists to have held that experience. However, UCONN Athletic Director Lew Perkins thought highly of Hathaway, who served as his right-hand man, and had this to say about Hathaway at the 2000 National Association Collegiate Directors of Athletics: "(Hathaway is) a gentleman who has been with me for 13 years. He's my Senior Associate Athletics Director. Most people think he's the athletics director and sometimes I wish he was the athletics director." Hathaway told the Courant that Perkins and others at UConn were very supportive of his decision.

Hathaway will direct an athletics program that includes 15 sport programs -- nine women¹s programs and six men¹s. UConn had 24 intercollegiate varsity programs with a budget of nearly $29 million-- more than twice that of CSU's. His previous job involved overseeing the day-to-day operations of the athletics department, including budgeting and scheduling. Hathaway also played a significant role in the upgrade of UConn's football program to Division I-A, including plans for UConn's new $90 million football stadium. Prior to his career at UConn, he was the assistant athletics director at the University of Maryland from 1982-90, during which time he also coordinated the department¹s marketing and communications activities. Hathaway also formerly worked for the Chicago White Sox and Washington Redskins, a pair of professional sports organization.

"I am thrilled to have this opportunity to join the CSU family. I look forward to continuing the enhancement and growth of the athletics program at Colorado State," said Hathaway when he was hired. "This is a program that has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success both academically and athletically. We want to be successful in those areas as well as growing the financial support of the program.

"Colorado State has wonderful people involved with this program, including the student-athletes, coaches, donors, staff and other members of the University community," he said in a statement Wednesday. "The most important asset that any intercollegiate athletics department has is its student athletes. It is critical to provide them with an opportunity to succeed academically as well as athletically. We must continue to find ways to provide the finest opportunities available for our student athletes as part of their overall educational experience at Colorado State."

—Courtesy of ramnation.com.