The interview lasted 42 minutes. I will post it in its entirety. I never was granted anywhere near that amount of time with Troy Dannen even before I fell out of favor with him during the 2017 football season. The last time I remember getting that opportunity with a Tulane AD was when I double-teamed Rick Dickson with then colleague Ted Lewis. I remember Dickson going on and on about how fans would fall in love with Ed Conroy's latest signing class, which turned out to be terrible. But enough about the miserable past. On with the interview.
Part I is the first 15 minutes.
DAVID HARRIS
How have things settled down since your massively important opening move after taking the job--hiring Jon Sumrall as football coach?
"Things have settled down since then although I don't know if things ever really settle down in these jobs. They are busy from beginning to end, but certainly there was just an increased urgency around needing to hire a new head football coach. It's a significant thing when you are coming into a position like this and that particular position is open that you have to move immediately to be able to fill the position. So while things haven't taken on that level of urgency since then for the most part, they've still been incredible busy and hopefully productive as well."
Jon Sumrall was on the top of just about everyone's list to be the next Tulane coach. What does it say about the state of the program that you were able to get him?
"I think that coach Sumrall saw many of the things at Tulane University that I saw when an opportunity came to be athletics director--success in not only the football program but across the board in many sports, dedication to improving our facilities, having the backing of the university to continue to go forward and continue to make investments to help us become a better program. He's already with the great city from being here before, so certainly he would have an understanding that this is a great place to live, and having worked at the university, he has an understanding of the culture here, so I would think through him all of those things were big pieces of the puzzle. But I'm sure as a head football coach, probably at the top of that list was not only previous success but a commitment to try to do the things to not only sustain it, but to improve on that success in the future."
The excitement around the program right now from fans entering a season is as high as it has been in my lifetime. How good do you feel about where the program is right now and the job Sumrall has done in the offseason?
"It really feels great. Everywhere that I go, people are talking about our football program. They are talking about coach Sumrall. They are talking about how excited they are that he's here and that he chose Tulane. There's lot of conversations about recruiting, about the athletes we've been able to bring in, specifically out of the transfer portal, and it really has been exciting because people are anxious for the beginning of the football season, they are anxious to see our student-athletes play and they are fired up about the opportunity to come to Yulman Stadium and be at those games. When you're in the position of athletics director, that's absolutely what you want. You want to be able to go to places across the country and meet with Tulane alums and supporters and have this be the tenor of the conversation. People are excited. They are fired up. They are looking forward to the upcoming season and there's a sense of real hope and optimism about us being able to compete at a very high level. I think it's made everybody anxious for the football season to start."
You've been here several months now. Has it been what you expected when you took the job?
"When you take a position anywhere, there's always going to be some elements that you expect and some elements that are somewhat surprising, but for the most part, yes, it's been what I expected, although no two days are the same and there's always unexpected challenges that you have to deal with. A great university on the rise, capable people working at the department, a commitment to really be good at everything that we do, a great city and just a real opportunity to be able to continue to elevate the program. I feel like that's been what' I've seen since I've been here."
What are your goals and what do you feel like will make you a successful athletic director here whenever your time ends?
"That's always a hard question to answer. The old adage is you leave a place better than you found it, and so while it's hard to even think about that at this point because those kind of conversations come when you're looking back at your time at a place, but overall in everything that the job involves, whether it's hiring coaches, raising money, getting facilities built, meeting your people on an every-day basis, setting a strategic direction, concentrating on our student-athletes and their welfare, there are just so many things that go into this type of position. We don't have a strategic plan or a set of goals as a department as of yet. That's likely something we're going to get to in the very near future, so broadly, I've told people that I want Tulane athletics to really be the model for college athletics, meaning that we have a great university academically, we have a championship-level athletics department, we have great engagement with our community, we keep student-athletes at the center of everything we do and we do things the right way. If we're able to meet that standard, then looking at whatever time I'm able to be here will be successful."
We're at question 6, but the first question everyone wants answered is the timetable for the indoor practice facility. Where is that right now?
"I'm still in conversations with campus to hone in on a start date for the construction. The construction is scheduled broadly to begin this summer, but there are some things that have to happen behind the scenes before you are able to definitely say it is going to start on July 15 or August 1."
Is is still definitely going to be on the field near the Reily Center?
"Yes. We haven't had any conversation about it being anywhere other than that position, so the plan is still that it starts this summer and construction will conclude toward the end of the calendar year/ beginning of 2025."
What has been the hardest thing about getting that project going?
"The most challenging part was that initially we were looking to do the construction in totality this summer, but then getting word that ultimately the pieces that were needed for construction of the bubble would not be in or available until later on in the fall meant that we had to pivot the plan that we had originally put into place, which if you saw my comments on social media, any construction project that I've ever been a part of, there is a likelihood that it's not going to go exactly as you planned. The beginning of this has been no exception, but it doesn't change our optimism and our plans that this is ultimately going to get done, but knowing that we would have to change the timing based on when the materials would show has probably been the biggest adjustment."
What is the estimated cost?
"The estimated cost is right about at the $7 million range."
And it is going to be open to regular students, too?
"Right. We're planning it as a shared use facility, so we've actually worked with campus to come up with a tentative schedule whereby there will be a time period for ROTC, athletics and campus rec and even an open time that students will be able to use. We have to finalize some of that, but yes, it's not only going to be open and available for student-athletes but also for other athletes on campus."
And how big will the football field be?
"It's either 70 or 75 yards, somewhere in that range."
How complex an issue has this whole process become?
"Sometimes it's not even necessarily that they're complex. It's that they have a lot of moving parts, a lot of different people involved, so even though the project in and of itself may be fairly simple or seem to be simple, it doesn't mean that there aren't a number of people involved in bringing it to fruition."
When it the latest you could envision the IPF being completed?
"I couldn't say when it is the latest. I can only say the current plan is that as we roll into December and January 2025 that that's the current timeline we're looking at. We haven't had any conversations of here's the latest that it will be completed."
What is the target date for the completion of the new tennis facility at the old Uptown Square location?
"As I talked with campus maybe a month or six weeks ago, the target date was still to have that open and available in the spring of '25, so the target date is more broad in that regard. The spring can be any time between March, May, June, somewhere in that area, but the target is spring of '25."
Part I is the first 15 minutes.
DAVID HARRIS
How have things settled down since your massively important opening move after taking the job--hiring Jon Sumrall as football coach?
"Things have settled down since then although I don't know if things ever really settle down in these jobs. They are busy from beginning to end, but certainly there was just an increased urgency around needing to hire a new head football coach. It's a significant thing when you are coming into a position like this and that particular position is open that you have to move immediately to be able to fill the position. So while things haven't taken on that level of urgency since then for the most part, they've still been incredible busy and hopefully productive as well."
Jon Sumrall was on the top of just about everyone's list to be the next Tulane coach. What does it say about the state of the program that you were able to get him?
"I think that coach Sumrall saw many of the things at Tulane University that I saw when an opportunity came to be athletics director--success in not only the football program but across the board in many sports, dedication to improving our facilities, having the backing of the university to continue to go forward and continue to make investments to help us become a better program. He's already with the great city from being here before, so certainly he would have an understanding that this is a great place to live, and having worked at the university, he has an understanding of the culture here, so I would think through him all of those things were big pieces of the puzzle. But I'm sure as a head football coach, probably at the top of that list was not only previous success but a commitment to try to do the things to not only sustain it, but to improve on that success in the future."
The excitement around the program right now from fans entering a season is as high as it has been in my lifetime. How good do you feel about where the program is right now and the job Sumrall has done in the offseason?
"It really feels great. Everywhere that I go, people are talking about our football program. They are talking about coach Sumrall. They are talking about how excited they are that he's here and that he chose Tulane. There's lot of conversations about recruiting, about the athletes we've been able to bring in, specifically out of the transfer portal, and it really has been exciting because people are anxious for the beginning of the football season, they are anxious to see our student-athletes play and they are fired up about the opportunity to come to Yulman Stadium and be at those games. When you're in the position of athletics director, that's absolutely what you want. You want to be able to go to places across the country and meet with Tulane alums and supporters and have this be the tenor of the conversation. People are excited. They are fired up. They are looking forward to the upcoming season and there's a sense of real hope and optimism about us being able to compete at a very high level. I think it's made everybody anxious for the football season to start."
You've been here several months now. Has it been what you expected when you took the job?
"When you take a position anywhere, there's always going to be some elements that you expect and some elements that are somewhat surprising, but for the most part, yes, it's been what I expected, although no two days are the same and there's always unexpected challenges that you have to deal with. A great university on the rise, capable people working at the department, a commitment to really be good at everything that we do, a great city and just a real opportunity to be able to continue to elevate the program. I feel like that's been what' I've seen since I've been here."
What are your goals and what do you feel like will make you a successful athletic director here whenever your time ends?
"That's always a hard question to answer. The old adage is you leave a place better than you found it, and so while it's hard to even think about that at this point because those kind of conversations come when you're looking back at your time at a place, but overall in everything that the job involves, whether it's hiring coaches, raising money, getting facilities built, meeting your people on an every-day basis, setting a strategic direction, concentrating on our student-athletes and their welfare, there are just so many things that go into this type of position. We don't have a strategic plan or a set of goals as a department as of yet. That's likely something we're going to get to in the very near future, so broadly, I've told people that I want Tulane athletics to really be the model for college athletics, meaning that we have a great university academically, we have a championship-level athletics department, we have great engagement with our community, we keep student-athletes at the center of everything we do and we do things the right way. If we're able to meet that standard, then looking at whatever time I'm able to be here will be successful."
We're at question 6, but the first question everyone wants answered is the timetable for the indoor practice facility. Where is that right now?
"I'm still in conversations with campus to hone in on a start date for the construction. The construction is scheduled broadly to begin this summer, but there are some things that have to happen behind the scenes before you are able to definitely say it is going to start on July 15 or August 1."
Is is still definitely going to be on the field near the Reily Center?
"Yes. We haven't had any conversation about it being anywhere other than that position, so the plan is still that it starts this summer and construction will conclude toward the end of the calendar year/ beginning of 2025."
What has been the hardest thing about getting that project going?
"The most challenging part was that initially we were looking to do the construction in totality this summer, but then getting word that ultimately the pieces that were needed for construction of the bubble would not be in or available until later on in the fall meant that we had to pivot the plan that we had originally put into place, which if you saw my comments on social media, any construction project that I've ever been a part of, there is a likelihood that it's not going to go exactly as you planned. The beginning of this has been no exception, but it doesn't change our optimism and our plans that this is ultimately going to get done, but knowing that we would have to change the timing based on when the materials would show has probably been the biggest adjustment."
What is the estimated cost?
"The estimated cost is right about at the $7 million range."
And it is going to be open to regular students, too?
"Right. We're planning it as a shared use facility, so we've actually worked with campus to come up with a tentative schedule whereby there will be a time period for ROTC, athletics and campus rec and even an open time that students will be able to use. We have to finalize some of that, but yes, it's not only going to be open and available for student-athletes but also for other athletes on campus."
And how big will the football field be?
"It's either 70 or 75 yards, somewhere in that range."
How complex an issue has this whole process become?
"Sometimes it's not even necessarily that they're complex. It's that they have a lot of moving parts, a lot of different people involved, so even though the project in and of itself may be fairly simple or seem to be simple, it doesn't mean that there aren't a number of people involved in bringing it to fruition."
When it the latest you could envision the IPF being completed?
"I couldn't say when it is the latest. I can only say the current plan is that as we roll into December and January 2025 that that's the current timeline we're looking at. We haven't had any conversations of here's the latest that it will be completed."
What is the target date for the completion of the new tennis facility at the old Uptown Square location?
"As I talked with campus maybe a month or six weeks ago, the target date was still to have that open and available in the spring of '25, so the target date is more broad in that regard. The spring can be any time between March, May, June, somewhere in that area, but the target is spring of '25."
