NORMAL – Jeri Beggs has been around Illinois State sports as the faculty athletics representative for 14 years.
She also is wrapping up a four-year term on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and recently served on the NCAA Transformation Committee formed to identify opportunities to modernize college sports and recommend forward-looking changes.
Beggs possesses considerable experience working with those in athletics. But as of May 1, she is working in athletics herself.
Upon the resignation of former ISU athletics director Kyle Brennan amid media reports of questionable use of department funds, Beggs was named the school’s interim athletics director.
The Pantagraph had an opportunity to speak with Beggs earlier this week and here are her responses in a question and answer format:
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Question: What our your goals for your time as interim athletics director?
Answer: “I’m being told it will take about six months to get the next athletics director onto our campus. So obviously I’m there to continue keeping the trains running while I’m there. But I would like to believe we could do a little bit more than just maintain. I have a background in strategic planning. I do that in my consulting work so I listen and organize and plan and strategize with my clients to help them be ready to make good decisions.
"I also am a marketing professor so I’ve spent lot of time learning about communications, brand management. I was a fundraiser in another lifetime back in my 20s for SIU-Carbondale so I feel like I can help with that side of the house with external communications, donor relations etc. I plan to help as much as I can. I plan to get organized and help them be ready for the next athletics director, kind of set the table.”
Q: You were nearing retirement, what made you want to take this job on?
A: “I had actually already turned in my paperwork. June 30th was going to be my last official day. As a faculty member, we pretty much wind down here in the middle of May. I had a summer class on my schedule then I was going to be done. I had already made plans to take a part-time job with the Missouri Valley Conference staff. I had some travel plans, had some consulting work lined up.
"But it just felt to me like a really unique opportunity, a kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity to serve the university and Redbird athletics. I’ve been faculty athletics rep for 14 years so I’m very involved with athletics. But I’ve never worked inside of the day to day operations of the athletic department.
"I guess it felt like an opportunity to serve in a way that was completely different than anything I had ever done before. I’m calling it the capstone to my career, kind of a last chance to do something hopefully really good for Redbird athletics.”
Q: Do you have any interest in the job full time?
A: “I really don’t. I had already made plans for after my retirement. I wanted to stay working but I really didn’t want the 12 months a year, five days a week workload anymore. I was looking for part-time work that would keep me active and engaged in the world of college athletics but not a day to day job. These people work really, really hard. I’m trying to finish up my academic career and be over in the athletics office. It’s a lot of work.”
Q: From your years of working with the athletics department, what have been your overall thoughts about the reputation and the standing of Illinois State athletics?
A: “It is wonderful actually. And I have stood in front of literally thousands of people over those 14 years in the different roles I’ve played and proudly said ‘I’m the faculty athletics rep from Illinois State University and we do things right.’ And I actually still really believe that.
"I know there have been stories out there about maybe some things that don’t fit with our image or fit with the university policies. But in general I think we have a lot to be proud of and in general we do things right.”
Q: Will you have any role in hiring the new athletics director?
A: “I don’t know exactly what my role will be. I’m working with the president (Aondover Tarhule) to talk about search firms and search process. Obviously, our president is an interim, so he was not here when we did this search the last time.
"So we’re getting lots of good advice from the (Missouri Valley) conference office and others who are knowledgeable about searches in the athletics world, and we’ll be moving forward with that as soon as we’ve made that plan.”
Q: What is the current status of the Indoor Practice Facility as far as its construction?
A: “We keep getting reports of delays in materials. We’re still hoping for a summer opening. At one point I think they were saying June. They may have moved it a little later in the summer. But the difficulty seems to be getting materials.
"The important thing is it be ready in the fall when the weather starts to get cold. That’s when it’s really going to be valuable to us when we need to be indoors. We’re hoping sooner rather than later, but we are having some delays in the materials.”
Q: You do expect it to be ready when the students come back in August?
A: “We’re hoping, yes.”
Q: Has the lack of pledged money coming into the university played a factor in delaying the Indoor Practice Facility construction?
A: “No. It actually hasn’t. The way it’s funded, the way it’s handled has no bearing on that at all.”
Q: Kyle Brennan’s resignation took effect at the start of May, could you confirm that (deputy director of athletics for external operations) Mark Muhlhauser is also no longer an employee of the athletic department?
A: “Yes.”
Q: He is no longer an employee?
A: “Right.”
Q: Do you feel the recent resignations have caused some damage to the reputation of the athletics department?
A: “I don’t think you can have that kind of information out in the public eye without having some impact, some effect. We’ve been pleasantly surprised at how many of our donors are still saying they are here to support us and they just want to turn the page and get back.
"My statement has been I want to get the focus back on the 450 student-athletes who wear Illinois State on their jerseys. Everybody seems to be rallying around that point. And so we’ve bene pleasantly surprised at how supportive our donors continue to be. They want to be ready to turn the page and move on."
Q: Do you have anything you would like to add?
A: “I really do want people to know that the president said it pretty well. Maybe it was a stumble but not a fall, not a crash. There’s still really great people working on the staff, great coaches, great student-athletes. We have so much to celebrate right now in terms of championships and coaches of the year.
"Our academic record is just incredible. You’re seeing all that on our social media. I just want to get back that focus on our student-athletes and all the wonderful things that are happening in Redbird athletics. That’s the goal.”