Miami AD still trying to fill positions

By: Dan Kukla

Posted: 8/24/07

Miami University's Athletic Department is currently searching to fill one of its assistant athletic media relations director positions, while simultaneously welcoming newly hired Mike Pearson to staff as assistant athletic director for communication technology.

Toward the end of the 2006-07 academic year, Miami University's Athletic Department experienced a high degree of turnover within its personnel, seeing the departure of Mike Watson, Jess Bechard, Mike Harris and Vince Frieden.

"Deadlines for filling positions are driven by responsibilities and obligations that need to be addressed," Athletic Director Brad Bates said. "At the same time we don't want to hire someone just to hire someone, so we're going to move very deliberately. We've got to make sure we hire the right people; our students deserve that."

Pearson has served 10 years as both assistant sports information director and assistant director of public relations for broadcast marketing at Michigan State University, and seven years as the sports information director at the University of Illinois.

During his time at Illinois, Pearson was involved with Illini football players Dana Howard and Kevin Hardy winning to back-to-back Butkus Awards and at MSU he was involved when Spartans became the first university in collegiate athletics to have first-team All-Americans in the sports of football, men's basketball and ice hockey all in the same season.

Pearson is also currently coming off an 11-year stint as the vice president of acquisitions and development for Sports Publishing LLC, a sports publishing organization.

"We are very fortunate to have Mike Pearson here," Bates said. "He has experience in the Big Ten, experience as an author and in the publishing industry, and his contacts are just incredible. To have him here is really a treat for us both in terms of his specific skill sets but also with his leadership ability."

One of the reasons Pearson said he was drawn to Miami's Athletic Department was because of its positive reputation.

"I wouldn't be here unless I thought that that (excellence) was going to be stressed," Pearson said. "Brad Bates basically recruited me to Miami much like a student athlete; I had to be convinced that this is where I needed to be. Through his leadership, I don't think that there is any doubt that I made the
right decision."

Right now there is only one position in the department yet to be filled. Bates is currently seeking a senior administrator who is experienced in working with coaches or working as a coach.

Being able to help facilitate the academic development of students, working with the academic support staff, being able to assist in on-campus recruiting, and the ability to connect current and future students with alumni are the main responsibilities that this person would have.

"The bottom line is success on the field and off the field," Pearson said. "All of us within the Athletic Department are being challenged to take it up a notch; everybody from the student athletes to the trainer to the coach is going to be challenged this year to do the very best that they can do."

Even in the midst of constantly trying to win, Bates knows that all student-athletes come to Miami first seeking an education, then a championship "The goals are perpetually that every one of our students leaves with one of the most prestigious degrees in the world while wearing championship jewelry," Bates said. "We really believe that those are two measurements of student
athlete development."