Mizzou Chancellor Has Clear Vision For His Role In Athletics

Looks like Loftin's book / expose of the XII-SEC move will come out later this fall, too.


Mizzou chancellor has clear vision for his role in athletics

By Dave Matter
dmatter@post-dispatch.com
314-340-85080


COLUMBIA, Mo. • R. Bowen Loftin walked into his first meeting of the Big 12 Conference presidents and chancellors in June 2009. Loftin had just been named interim president at Texas A&M. His experience dealing in college athletics was limited to his time as CEO at Texas A&M’s branch campus in Galveston.

“Our two varsity sports were sailing and rowing,” he said.

The rookie in the Big 12 meeting room left Dallas that day in shock.

“First of all, not everyone was there,” said Loftin, now chancellor at the University of Missouri. “There had been a history already of people not coming to the meetings and sending delegates, which is not permitted in the SEC. ... Every meeting there (was) missing people. That was not a good way to run a conference, in my opinion.”

If Loftin has made anything clear in his nine months at Mizzou it’s this: Showing up is essential.

Whether it’s along the sidelines on Faurot Field, greeting fans at a volleyball match or visiting with students on The Quad, the first-year chancellor has quickly become the most visible figure on campus not named Truman the Tiger. The 65-year-old mustachioed Texan’s presence is unmistakable thanks to his trademark bow tie — he owns more than 400 — and his keen interest and support of athletics might be unprecedented for the school’s top administrator.

As athletics director Mike Alden enters his 17th year at Mizzou, his new boss is someone who quickly forged a reputation as a powerful figure on his previous campus and on the national stage — with athletics at the core of Loftin’s rise. In the 1990s and again in 2010, Texas A&M had flirted with joining the SEC but couldn’t reach a consensus among boosters and fans. In 2011, Loftin made it possible.

“I always joke that the bow-tie-wearing physics professor was at the forefront of college realignment,” said Jason Cook, Texas A&M’s senior associates athletics director. “Obviously, with a decision of that magnitude a lot of people are involved … but Dr. Loftin got all these people moving in the same direction.”

Loftin’s legacy at Texas A&M is already written — literally. Later this fall, Loftin’s co-written account of the school’s Big 12 departure will hit bookstores: “The 100-Year Decision: Texas A&M and the SEC.”

After guiding the Aggies out of the Big 12 and into the SEC in 2011 — and thereby leading the SEC to pursue a 14th member, which turned out to be Missouri — Loftin announced his resignation from Texas A&M, his alma mater, in July 2013. Missouri’s search firm approached him two months later about replacing departing chancellor Brady Deaton. In December, he was announced as Deaton’s successor, just in time for Loftin to attend Mizzou’s appearance in the SEC football championship game in Atlanta wearing a new black and gold bow tie.

In his eight months on the job — Mizzou will hold a formal inauguration ceremony Thursday — Loftin has given glimpses of his leadership style when it comes to athletics. Loftin doesn’t believe in meddling in Alden’s daily business, but he requires constant communication with his athletics director.

“First rule of management: Don’t be surprised,” Loftin said. “Mike understands that very well, so he makes sure I’m not surprised.”

Loftin said he trusts Alden to identify candidates for head-coaching jobs. When Mizzou was looking for a men’s basketball coach in April, Alden visited with four finalists, then came back to Loftin with one name: Kim Anderson.

From there, Anderson met with Loftin at the chancellor’s home, where they talked about Anderson’s standards for player behavior and academics.

“I never had one question about how he coaches basketball,” Loftin said. “I assumed that was all taken care of by the AD. … I have a pretty good sense where my line is and where Mike’s line is.”

“He has a great understanding of how intercollegiate athletics intersect with higher education — that it’s important but not the most important thing,” Alden said. “I really appreciate his visibility, his energy. He’s a person that will make a decision. … He gets it.”

When it comes to firing head coaches, Loftin did that once at Texas A&M — and vows it won’t happen again. After the 2011 season, Loftin sensed it was time Texas A&M part ways with football coach Mike Sherman, whom Loftin believed was too consumed with X’s and O’s and didn’t relate well with players. Athletics director Bill Byrne was reluctant to make the move, Loftin said. Texas A&M fired Sherman after a 6-6 regular season.

“Bill had to be really forced to do that,” Loftin said. “I don’t like doing that. That’s not my style.”

The next summer, Loftin hired South Carolina AD Eric Hyman to replace Byrne.

When it comes to Mizzou athletics, Loftin sees his role as an ambassador to donors and fans. He spends football game days on a meticulous schedule, meeting with high-dollar boosters, then visiting with students in the crowd. He likes to be in the locker room after games to watch the head coach’s postgame speech.

“I do not even think about trying to manage this (athletics) department independently of the AD,” he said. “I have a certain role to play in a few areas, coaching contracts for example. … But if the AD is not doing the job they should do, then we change ADs.”