Timeline:
- Dec. 31st: Jim Weaver will retire
- Jan. 1st: Senior Assoc. AD Sharon McCloskey will become interim AD
- Feb. 1st: VT hopes to appoint new AD by this date
Principals involved:
- Jim Weaver: retiring AD
- Sharon McCloskey: will be interim AD effective Jan. 1st
- Ray Smoot: will direct search for replacement
- Charles Steger: current school president; will probably still be president when new AD is hired
- New school president (currently unknown): will be consulted on the hire, if hired/appointed in time
More Details:
Weaver’s retirement is effective Dec. 31, 2013. His contract runs through Dec. 2015, but he is stepping down early due to health issues.
VT President Charles Steger did not force Weaver to step down. Weaver made up his mind “about a month ago,” when notified that he would need surgery on both hips soon.
Senior Assoc. AD Sharon McCloskey will be interim AD starting Jan. 1, until a new AD is hired. McCloskey was also interim AD between Dave Braine’s departure and Weaver’s arrival on 1997.
Ray Smoot, former chief executive officer of the Virginia Tech Foundation, will chair a national search for the next athletics director. Weaver will assist in the search (edit: will answer questions if asked, but will not be part of the search committee).
Steger hopes to complete the search by Feb. 1st. He said he will “consult with” the new school president when choosing an AD (implies that an announcement will be made about the new president before then; the Roanoke Times said Steger will consult with “him” — implying perhaps that the new president will not be a woman).
Tom Gabbard or Frank Beamer will not succeed Weaver.
Sources:
Virginia Tech Athletic Director Jim Weaver to leave post — hokiesports.com, Nov. 12, 2013
Health problems push Virginia Tech Athletic Director Jim Weaver to retire — Roanoke Times, Nov. 13, 2012
Tech AD Jim Weaver to step down at year’s end — Richmond Times-Dispatch, Nov. 13, 2013
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ooops…better link – minutes to the Oct 29th meeting…things are progressing along…interviews have started.
http://www.presidentialsearch.vt.edu/meetings/minutes/oct-29-minutes.pdf
Link to the VT Pres selection process. http://apps.hr.vt.edu/president-search/
Steger, Weaver and Smoot are all very smart and accomplished business leaders and love VA Tech. I’m sure there’s been a lot going on beind the scenes. I trust that they’ll make the best descisions for VT. For example, I don’t that Weaver would step down on 12/31 if it was to put Steger or VT in a bind. I’m sure it’s a well thought-out and precise plan… including Weaver’s casual announcement yesterday.
@HokiesJournal just tweeted that, per Larry Hincker, JW will not have a role on selection committee, contrary to what was stated yesterday.
Thanks. I clarified that section of the article by saying that Weaver will answer questions if asked.
Nice summary. It would be great if we could get an AD who has Weaver’s fiscal skills but is a little more in tune with marketing to the fanbase. Getting Hokie fans to contribute greater amounts of money will require better entertainment. Alumni loyalty only goes so far. You need to put a good product on the field and the court. You need to be creative entertaining people when you are playing Western Carolina. You need to embrace tailgating and act like you appreciate fans that come early and spend their money in Blacksburg. Weaver has been a good AD but the next AD will have an even more difficult job. Hope they find a good one.
Probably not an AD decision but legalize beer in Lane and Cassell. Plenty of people wouldn’t get so drunk if they could drink beer instead of liqueur.
Good luck Mr. Weaver!
this is an astute post. i feel like within the last 6-8 years, there has been an emphasis to drive a large wedge into the fan experience. Aging coaches, aging AD, aging alumni fanbase, everything seems stale and reduced to the lowest common denominator. These current students have no idea what Lane was like 10-15 years ago. the Game experience was so good that we’d drive 4 hours, show up without tickets, tailgate and hope to God some good Hokie had a few extra tickets because it was that important. The next AD has to figure out how to make this program marketable to it’s newer alumni base otherwise the gap will widen.
Forgive my ignorance but mentioning Tom Gabbard at the end of the article but not mentioning his role forced me to google him. probably worth a link to his profile on Hokiesports: http://www.hokiesports.com/staff/gabbard_tom.html
It will be nice to give Weaver a sincere goodbye this weekend at the MD game. I hope something special is planned like an extended version of “stick it in”..TIC of course. Weaver did a ton for this great university and he needs to be thanked appropriately. Good luck and godspeed to him!
I believe the timing is very fast. Wouldn’t be surprised if decision as to who, pending approvals of course, has already been made or is close. This is a big, important job and Jim’s shoes will take a lot of filling. Tom
If the input of the new president is important, why not let Sharon be the interim AD for 2 months instead of 1…or more if necessary? Or does that cause some other chaos that I’m not considering?
Any chance on a President / AD package deal?
We have been searching for a new President for a while now. You’ve got to think they’ve gotten it narrowed down and can run candidates by the handful of candidates remaining. Additionally I know a lot is being made about a new president wanting his own staff in place but honestly if you were about to take over the reigns at a top public university I’m pretty sure your focus for at least the first several years is going to be academics. I know Presidents can be sports fans as well, but I’d put money on a President trusting the BOVs, etc. on the athletic director.
The flip side of that is that school presidents who are on the short list may have an athletic director they want to bring along with them. It depends upon the president. Some, like Maryland’s Wallace Loh, are clueless about athletics. Others may have strong opinions and a guy they really like.
IMHO, The search has been on going,I would guess since late Sept. or early Oct. Jim Weaver’s Health being as it was and all the new ills he is having, Everybody that is in charge at VT had a plan. Which I think was smart on theirs and Jim Weaver’s part. He has been a very good AD for VT and I hope VT gets a person that is just as good.
Just a guess but they have probably been looking for that new AD for a bit now. at least with some “feelers” as it were.
Coach Weaver did what he thought was best for VT. I did not agree with him on everything, but I don’t think he should be considered the villian in some things. He has always taken the time to respond to the ordinary fan, with a phone call or email. How many other schools AD can say that? I for one wish he could stay till 2015. I hope his health improves so he can enjoy his retirement!
Nice summary,Will. It looks like they must be close to naming a president. Also Feb.1 sounds like a pretty fast hire for the AD as well.
I thought that too but then I figured that it may be because I was looking at the effective date of Jan 1 for his stepping down. I would figure though that the search committee is currently being formed and will start as soon as possible. A 3 month search should be ok right? Or is that what you were thinking too?