The Post's Laurie Duffy sat down with Ohio Director of Athletics Thomas Boeh to get his favorite moments in sports, delve into the role models in sports, and to highlight his expectations for Ohio Athletics in 2004.
The Post: What is your favorite or most memorable sports moment that is not affiliated with Ohio University athletics?
Boeh: Probably the 1980 American (ice hockey) win over the Soviet Union at Lake Placid. It was just an amazing moment for the country and things were so different then in terms of having true amateur college players playing what amounted to professional players with the Soviet Union. They call it the Miracle on Ice for a good reason. I've always enjoyed ice hockey, and I think that was, in terms of something I've not been associated with, what stands out.
The Post: What has been your favorite or most memorable from your time at Ohio?
Boeh: Boy, there's a handful... I think the football win over Minnesota a few years ago was exciting because of the way it came about. I think beating Virginia in men's basketball this past year was something that not many people thought could be done. Volleyball provided us with a lot of moments this year and the past couple of years. It would be almost impossible for me to pinpoint a specific sport or moment - we've had a lot of good things go on here. I'll tell you a moment that touched me a great deal, and I wasn't even there. Our women's swimming team was down to the last event in the Mid-American Conference, so you know about us jumping in the pool a little too early. The manner in which those women handled that kind of devastating turn of events and held their head up high and congratulated Miami and the rest of the conference. And they responded by chanting and congratulated Ohio not for winning but for handling the loss the way they did. That was probably as gratifying moment as I've ever had in college athletics.
The Post: As a sports fan, who do you think is the best role model within sports?
Boeh: I think Walter Payton was very special in terms of what he meant to the NFL and the Bears and the city of Chicago and the way he conducted himself. I think that Grant Hill that played for the Pistons is an exceptional person and great role model. There's so many that do good things, but of course we read about the ones who get in trouble professionally and in college. But there are some terrific stories and a lot of heroes out there. I think Pele was terribly important to the world, but he represented his sport and just the kind of person he was...
The Post: As an administrator, who is your role model or mentor?
Boeh: My mentor has been Kevin White at Notre Dame. I worked with Kevin at Loras and then at Maine. If I need some counsel or if I had to emulate someone, it would be Kevin. He has a little bit of a different personality than I do, and he's generally regarded as one of the top administrators in the country. I think he was in the Sporting News in the top 100 powerful people in sports. I think it's twofold: one because of his position at Notre Dame, which was always his lifetime goal is to be the athletic director at Notre Dame. We talked about that at Loras 20 years ago; and two because of the quality of individual he is, his unwavering integrity, his insight into the industry and the working and mechanics of intercollegiate athletics. And his almost unsurpassed commitment to education and leadership - that's what he serious about. He really cares about student athletes.
The Post: Just a few weeks into the New Year, what are your goals for Ohio Athletics in 2004?
Boeh: I think we have a few goals. One, we have to get our financial funding model straightened out and we need to find a way to be able to compete with the rest of the league financially, which we're not doing right now. We're hoping to work with the institution to get that done. You've seen the numbers - we're 11th of 13 - and our coaches simply don't have the resources that we want them to have. Optimists think we can do that both to help ourselves in terms of revenue as well as continuing to get some support from the institution. Secondly, I think our primary goal... we've had a lot of success stories with field hockey, swimming or volleyball or wrestling over the past several years. But the program's reputation and sometimes the aura around it tends to be drawn from football and men's basketball. We need to continue to keep the faith that things are going the right way - that we're doing the right things and we've been a victim of some pretty bad luck over the past year. There's things that we need to do to take that next step whether it be in football or men's basketball, but the fact that we've been competitive in almost every event we've been in - whether it be Minnesota in football or DePaul in basketball, we've been right there. We need to take the next step, and I think that as the coaches and student athletes learn from past experiences and we mature as a program, it is my hope that we take that next step. It is my belief that we're very close to that. So for 2004, it would be nice to take the step in those two sports. We're pretty healthy across the board in most of everything else. With that, the only thing I hope in 2004 is that our student athletes stay safe and work toward their degree and come out of here with a meaningful degree and have as good experience as possible here at Ohio.
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Laurie Duffy
