Second, Mr. Hof sees the role of the Athletic Director and Athletics as being equitable across all 36 varsity sports, ensuring that student-athletes in each of these sports have the opportunity to accomplish their academic and athletic goals. Third, Mr. Hof explains that there is less pressure to win a continual series of national championships to gain financial support; it is more critical to focus on building and sustaining trust and collaboration with donors. He implies that once trust and collaboration has been achieved that donors see the value in attaining student-athlete balance in the athletic programs at Ohio State. Fourth, Mr. Hof makes an excellent point about how Ohio State is using technology to ensure greater collaboration with the community of supporters.
My Critique
This interview is outstanding...
The fact that the Ohio State Athletic Department could afford to donate $5M for a new library shows how service-based approaches to managing programs, putting the student-athlete's needs first. At Ohio State, academic and athletics can create a win/win collaborative relationship and the students end up getting to their academic and athletic goals.
References
Matthew Boyle, & Jim Collins. (2007, February). Jim Collins. Fortune, 155(3), 50-54.
Cobbs, J. (2007). Interview with Tom Hof, Senior Associate Athletic Director, External Relations -- the Ohio State University. Sports Marketing Quarterly, West Virginia University, 16(1),…
