Athletic Director Search Continues

Oberlin interviewed their second candidate for athletic director, Frank Pergolizzi, on Monday, March 13. Pergolizzi arrived in Oberlin on the evening of March 12 and toured the campus while meeting with student athletes, athletic department faculty and staff the following day. Pergolizzi, who has been the Director of Athletics at Southeastern Louisiana University since 2000, has decided this will be his last year at the institution.

Students and faculty met Pergolizzi at an open forum where he spoke about his candidacy and fielded questions from the audience. To open the hour, Pergolizzi explained why he felt Oberlin was a good fit for him.

Pergolizzi expressed that he and his wife Mary’s wish to move closer to loved ones due to the long distance travel to and from Louisiana. Pergolizzi’s immediate family is in New York while his wife’s parents live in western Michigan. “It’s very important right now at this point in our lives to get closer to one or both of our families,” he said.

Pergolizzi is a 1978 graduate of Williams College, where he played varsity football and baseball. He talked about his personal experience at an institution of higher academic achievement with a Division III athletics program and why that could make him a good fit at Oberlin.

“Having gone to Williams, I think I have a good understanding of the role of athletics at a very competitive academic institution. The other thing for me is to get back to my roots from an academic value perspective. There are many positives that are inherent in Division III athletics.”

Pergolizzi has been director of athletics at SLU, a Division I athletic program, for six years. Prior to going to SLU, Pergolizzi was the Athletic Director at East Tennessee State University. He was the football coach and athletics director at St. Francis from ’89 - ’95. At St. Francis, the football team rose from the bottom of their conference to the top in Pergolizzi’s last two years there. In 1995, Pergolizzi left coaching to pursue a full-time role as athletics director at St. Francis.

When asked how he would define success for the athletic program at Oberlin, Pergolizzi said one of his main goals would be to “to develop a program that would be consistently competitive in the NCAC at a level of excellence that is consistent with the rest of the college.”

Pergolizzi explained that the first goal for the overall athletic program would be to finish in the top half of the NCAC. Once that goal was accomplished, Pergolizzi said, “The next step would be making it to the top of the conference.”

Pergolizzi described his keys to a successful athletic program at great length. He felt his main component was the coaching staff and his ability to work with coaches to help the team improve. “I’m someone who can work effectively with the current coaching staff, particularly the young coaches. At the same time, recruiting is also important to find new coaches who might make better fits in certain situations.”

Pergolizzi also discussed the importance of connecting with the faculty and staff both within and beyond the athletics department, which helps make progress possible on and off the field.

“The first thing that I think is always going to be important is building relationships with all the various groups and constituencies on and off campus that are important to the athletic director being successful in his or her job and the program being successful.”

A unique part of Pergolizzi’s plan for success is his emphasis on marketing student athletes throughout the campus, something that isn’t done often at Oberlin other than by the athletes themselves.

“I think the way you do that is you look at the many student athletes that are doing outstanding things and you brag about them as many times as you can in a way that’s effective communication-wise,” said Pergolizzi.

Pergolizzi is one of four candidates for the Athletic Director position starting in Fall 2006.

Ginger Fulton

By Michael Mullaley

The search for Oberlin’s new athletic director continued on Wednesday, March 15 with Seton Hall University’s Ginger Fulton, the latest candidate vying for the position. After previous stints at Xavier University (1993 -1998) and Seton Hall since ’98, Fulton is looking to leave the buzzing New York atmosphere and Division I scene for a smaller, slower-paced job in the Division III sector.

After the routine luncheon at Stevenson and tours of the campus, Fulton spoke to an open forum for about an hour, as did the other competitors before her. During this event she discussed a variety of topics, from her many years living in Ohio to her background as a professional golfer. She also explained her philosophy on the importance of student-athletes fulfilling both requirements (student and an athlete) and her approach for a more efficient way of recruiting.

Fulton grew up in Springfield, Ohio and attended Ohio State University, where she played golf. She has been very involved in this sport, taking part as both a player and club associate. She started the women’s golf team at Xavier and has had plenty of experience in teaching people how to play the game. When asked how golf has helped her athletic director skills, Fulton replied, “[It has helped me in] being sensitive to all types of people and all ages of people.” She also would be interested in looking into a women’s golf program here at Oberlin.

The current senior associate athletic director at Seton Hall is adamant that students can be good both academically and athletically. She feels that in Division III athletics, it is more about the student athlete, while Division I is much more about entertainment. Without athletic scholarships to give out, students’ love of the game at Division III schools is something Fulton loves to see. “I want to be around a group that likes the sport for the sport.”

At a highly academic institution such as Oberlin, Fulton was made aware that it attracts a slightly different caliber of athletes, athletes that can get the job done on both ends, field and classroom. When asked how this would affect her recruiting policy, she explained that she would not allow Oberlin’s standards to drop to allow certain students in. She explained that coaches need to have the right sources to find certain kids. While the focus is on varsity sports, Fulton described the importance and necessity of having club sports: “Club sports are real important to a campus like this. I am a fan of the not-normal sports, such as dodgeball or floor hockey.”

Despite working at DI schools, she has never worked with a football program, as both Xavier and Seton Hall dropped the sport many years ago. She did admit that football is near the top of her list in favorite sports and she would be anxious to be a part of the football program.

Fulton was clear that seeing students be successful was something very important to her. When asked about what she likes best at her current position, she said, “I like seeing kids that come in as quiet freshmen and see them accomplish something and become a leader.”

While Fulton has an array of experience and knows many people at the top level, she stated that she would not be interested in coming to Oberlin and “cleaning house.” As she said, “I would have an agenda to see where everyone is at. I have no agenda to bring new people in.”

The next candidate for the athletic director position is Joe Karlgaard, the current interim athletic director for Oberlin. His open forum is on March 23 at 1-2 p.m. in Wilder 101.