TEXAS CHRISTIAN ATHLETIC DIRECTOR (Odds)

Eric Hyman is in his fifth year as director of athletics at TCU. Under his leadership, the Horned Frogs are well on their way to becoming a nationally prominent program with improved visibility, personnel and facilities.

During the 2001-02 school year, first-year member TCU had the most successful overall season of any Conference USA member. The Horned Frogs' debut campaign in the league featured one regular season championship, five tournament championships and nine NCAA appearances, more than any other conference school. The Frogs participated in a fourth-consecutive bowl game, the longest streak in school history, and established an attendance record in women's basketball.

That season came on the heels of the 2000-01 athletic campaign, arguably the best in school history, when TCU registered a school record eight Western Athletic Conference championships and had seven teams nationally ranked. TCU was one of only four schools to record 10 victories in football and 20 wins in both men's and women's basketball, and set a school record for football season tickets sold.

Hired then-KU assistant coach Neil Dougherty to lead TCU's men's basketball program in 2002.

Since officially being named to the post on December 8, 1997, Hyman has worked diligently to improve TCU's athletics facilities. The first phase of a plan approved by the Board of Trustees in November of 1998 included the construction of the Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium, the Robert and Maria Lowden Track and the Morris Football Practice Fields. Phase two included the ADA-recommended renovations to Daniel-Meyer Coliseum and the construction of the John Justin Athletic Center, which houses an academic learning center, athletic administrative offices, football offices, meeting rooms and a heritage center to showcase the past traditions and accomplishments of Horned Frog athletics.

Phase three, which included the construction of Lupton Stadium for baseball, a new football videoboard and an addition to the tennis center which will house the tennis offices, meeting rooms and locker room facilities, will be completed by the end of the 2002 calendar year. The final phase will address the indoor football practice facility, the basketball practice facility and new offices for men's and women's basketball.

Took Neil Dougherty from the Jayhawks. Would he send himself to Lawrence in return?

Hyman was instrumental in orchestrating TCU's invitation to join Conference USA, which houses nationally ranked football and basketball teams in major media markets throughout the central and eastern United States. He also negotiated an innovative marketing partnership for TCU athletics with ESPN Regional, the most extensive agreement of its kind between ESPN and a university. The multimedia rights agreement brings to TCU a powerful combination of the most recognized brand in sports, additional television exposure, and an aggressive corporate sponsorship recruitment effort, all designed to bring additional exposure to the athletics program and the university.

Hyman has also successfully procured some of the top coaches to work at TCU. During his tenure, Hyman has hired football coaches Dennis Franchione and Gary Patterson, men's basketball coach Neil Dougherty and women's basketball coach Jeff Mittie among others, while overseeing a transformation of the Athletics Department's personnel.

Prior to joining TCU, Hyman was athletic director at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. During Hyman's tenure, Miami had the fifth-highest graduation rate among all NCAA Division I schools in the country. Miami won ten conference championships during Hyman's final two years at the school. Hyman has served as an executive associate athletics director at North Carolina State University, athletic director at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and associate athletic director at Furman University. VMI honored Hyman by creating the Bissell-Hyman Award in 1992 to recognize annually the athletic team exhibiting the highest standards of academic, athletic and military performance. Hyman coached football for nine years at Furman University while receiving his master's degree in educational administration from the school. He also coached women's basketball at North Greenville College in South Carolina, taking the team to national rankings of No. 3 and No. 7.

A successful student-athlete at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Hyman was an all-conference football player who played in three bowl games and appeared on the dean's list. A pre-season All-America and All-South player his senior year, he earned all-conference honors in the Atlantic Coast Conference and was selected to play in the Hula Bowl.

Hyman's wife, Pauline, also is an active academician with an athletics background. She played and coached women's basketball, and has taught sociology and psychology and served as an administrator at the college level. At Miami, she developed and taught the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills course for student-athletes, which she also teaches at TCU. The Hymans have two children, Ryan, who graduated from TCU in 2001, and Corrine, who is currently attending TCU.

—Courtesy of gofrogs.com.