Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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YSU's Athletic Director Ron Strollo addresses the resignation of YSU's Head Football Coach, Jon Heacock, at a press conference Monday afternoon. Heacock announced his resignation Sunday. The following video is the press conference in its entirety. Strollo addresses issues like expectations, the search for a new coach and answers other questions from the media.
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MEETS THE PRESS: Ron Strollo, YSU’s athletic director, talks to reporters after Jon Heacock’s resignation as football coach. Strollo said Monday he is immediately launching a national search for a successor.
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Former YSU coach Jon Heacock durng 11-14-09 game with Illinois State.
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SEARCH PROCESS: Youngstown State University Athletic Director Ron Strollo will make a hiring recommendation for the university’s next head football coach to President David Sweet who would make the appointment. The university trustees would have to approve that hiring.
The search for a new head football coach comes as YSU also looks for a new president.
By Harold Gwin
The Youngstown State University Board of Trustees will not have a role in selecting the school’s next head football coach. The president of the board said that decision will be left to the athletic director and the president.
And it probably will happen very quickly, Scott Schulick said, explaining that he expects the university to appoint a new coach within two weeks.
Jon Heacock, who has been at the helm since 2001, announced his resignation over the weekend, and Ron Strollo, YSU athletic director, said he was immediately launching a national search for a successor.
Strollo will make a hiring recommendation to President David C. Sweet who would make the appointment, Schulick said. The trustees ultimately will have to approve that hiring, he said.
Strollo said the two-week timetable suggested by Schulick might be too quick, but he said things will happen fast, and it is possible to have a new coach in place by Christmas.
The search for a new coach comes at a time when the university also is searching for a new president.
Sweet is retiring as of June 30, 2010, and a search for his successor also has begun.
Sweet may be a lame-duck president, but decisions still must be made, and the hiring of a coach is one of them, Schulick said.
A university president might typically offer input into the selection of a head football coach, but it is unlikely any presidential prospects being considered by YSU will get that opportunity, Schulick said.
The university will have a new coach before finalists are in place for the office of president, he predicted.
The presidential search committee is reviewing applications now and tentatively hopes to set up some interviews in early December to continue the narrowing process.
Schulick said the search committee wants to have a list of eight to 10 semi-finalists identified by the first week of December. Those individuals will be invited to meet with the committee for interviews near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
The plan is to have three to five finalists to be presented to the board of trustees by its Dec. 16 meeting. The board will then invite the candidates it is interested in to visit campus for interviews.
The goal is to name a new president at the board’s March 12 meeting.
Timing for selecting a new football coach is much tighter, he said, explaining that it must be done quickly as the coach can choose his staff and get busy on recruiting. Prospective students will be signing commitment letters during the first week of February.
Intercollegiate athletics at YSU is an integral part of university life for it students, its supporters and the community, Schulick said.
Football is “a point of pride” that extends beyond campus to the community It’s something the community can rally around, Schulick said.
The rallying around YSU’s program has dropped off somewhat since 2000 when the Penguins under former Coach Jim Tressel pulled in more than 18,000 fans per game.
That number was down to under 14,500 per game in the 2008 season.
It has never been a profit-making venture.
For example, revenues in 2000 brought in $1,309,679 while expenditures that year totalled $1,484,544.
Revenue has grown since then, reaching $1,943,745 in 2008, but so have expenses growing to $2,461,608 over that period.
The football program has expanded its number of sponsors over the years, from 57 in 2000 to 83 in 2008, but that money doesn’t go into programming. Instead, it is reserved for scholarships.
YSU football had 92 sponsors in both 2006 and 2007 but lost 21 of them in 2008. However, it picked up 12 new ones in that same period.
Schulick said the trustees recognize that to sustain all of the athletic programs, investment will be required. The board is prepared to do that and recognizes the value of intercollegiate athletics to the entire campus and the strategic investments required, he said.
gwin@vindy.com