Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/277774
that I think a lot of other universities are going to look at and say, 'This is the way we should be operating to make sure that we're doing all the things the right way.' "This is truly the Penn State way. If we find something that we're not doing well, we turn around and make sure we are doing it well." At Florida State, Barron was known as a highly capable administrator who im- proved the university's academic repu- tation by maximizing efficiency, devel- oping better relations with the Florida Legislature and tirelessly fundraising. He saw sports as a form of alumni out- reach and made a number of consequen- tial decisions aimed at bettering the school's athletic department academi- cally, competitively and fiscally. Last June, Barron replaced the athletic director he had inherited after taking of- fice, Randy Spetman. Under Spetman, Florida State's athletic department was in the red in 2010 and 2011, losing nearly $10 million. In addition, Spetman had run afoul of some Seminoles fans fol- lowing the ouster of longtime football coach Bobby Bowden after the 2009 season. To find a new athletic director, Barron sought as much advice as he could gather and hired an executive search firm to amass a strong pool of candidates. After a nine-week search, Florida State hired Stan Wilcox, who had been an adminis- trator at Duke, Notre Dame and the Big East and had experience in sports mar- keting. Barron called the choice of Wilcox "a carefully reasoned gut instinct." At Penn State, the athletic depart- ment's long-term leadership has been Donovan Smith makes for a pretty inviting target, and during last year's IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, the brawny Penn State o8ensive tackle was on the receiving end of a point-blank squirt gun blast. "It just came out of nowhere," Smith said. "I got a face full of water. I didn't know where it came from." On Feb. 22, during a tour of the Lasch Building in which Make-A- Wish families were given a chance to explore the locker room, weight room and other football facilities, Smith got another look at his as- sailant. "My man Mason, he's growing up and getting bigger," Smith said. "It's good to see the kids growing up strong." About 30 families participated in the THON Make-A-Wish event, part of the annual THON festivities, which raise money for the Four Dia- monds Fund and its e8orts to 7ght pediatric cancer. Some of the kids, like Mason, had been there in previ- ous years and were getting another chance to spend time with their fa- vorite players. Others were seeing the Lasch Building for the 7rst time. "It's awesome. You build relation- ships with these kids who come back year a:er year, so you get to see them grow up," said senior guard Miles Di- e8enbach, one of the tour guides on Saturday a:ernoon. "These families and kids have been through a lot, and for us to be able to a8ect them, it's awesome. You build a relationship with these kids, and it's something I look forward to every year." Kids and their parents fanned out throughout the locker room. Some kids tried on helmets, while others played catch or collected autographs. A line quickly formed in front of quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who was anything but incognito de- spite wearing a Detroit Tigers ball cap. While players entertained their guests, equipment manager Spider Caldwell stood at a table bearing all manner of football gear, including a old-fashioned leather helmet. As the kids stopped by, Caldwell let them try on the equipment and told stories about what it was used for. One young visitor tried on the leather helmet, then, encouraged by the crowd, extended his arm and struck a Heisman Trophy pose. Penn State athletes lend support during THON A I P H I L A N T H R O P Y