In case you don't have access to the Dallas Morning News, here's a good article on our new AD. It's a Katie Hairpuss read.
Who is new Texas A&M AD Scott Woodward? From an 'extraordinary judge of people' to an 'extremely persuasive salesman'
By Kate Hairopoulos, Staff Writer Contact Kate Hairopouloson Twitter
kHairopoulos
As new Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward prepares to take over the $120 million enterprise of Aggies athletics on Feb. 1, he arrives with the men's basketball program on the rise and coach Kevin Sumlin's all-important football program in a rut in the SEC West.
The new boss, who left the same role at the University of Washington, hit all the right notes at his formal introduction this month, beyond the well-placed "howdy" and "gig 'em." He praised the richness of traditions at a school that loves its Aggie rings, Corps of Cadets and Midnight Yell.
But as the real work begins in Aggieland, those who have worked closely with Woodward believe his unique background, Louisiana roots, adaptability and relationship with A&M President Michael Young, also formerly of the University of Washington, make him the right choice to lead A&M as it heads toward its fifth full year as a member of the Southeastern Conference. Woodward, 52, replaces Eric Hyman, who resigned this month after less than four years on the job.
"Honestly, A&M couldn't have cloned a better AD," said famed political strategist James Carville, a longtime associate of Woodward's.
A&M track coach Pat Henry, head of 35 NCAA championship teams, worked with Woodward at LSU from 2000-04 when Woodward was director of external affairs for Chancellor Mark Emmert, now president of the NCAA. Henry wouldn't divulge how many Aggies coaches had called to get the scoop on Woodward but acknowledged a degree of curiosity.
"I have very good feelings about Scott Woodward," Henry said, "and his ability to do this job at Texas A&M."
So what to expect from Woodward, who opted not to schedule additional media interviews until next month?
"College Station is a lot different from Seattle," Woodward told in-house 12th Man TV recently. "But for the most part, it's letting people do what they do well and empowering them to do great things. And that's mainly my philosophy ... to really delegate and expect and demand performance and greatness."
Accidental career
Woodward, friends say, has a passion for collegiate sports, but he didn't set out to build a career in them.
When Emmert left LSU to become president at Washington in 2004, Woodward went with him to work in external relations. Lobbying the state government had been Woodward's primary job at LSU, though Woodward had also been Emmert's liaison to athletics. That included building a relationship with then-Tigers football coach Nick Saban, the current Alabama coach who has won five national titles, including the 2003 championship at LSU.
"They got along very well," Emmert said of Saban and Woodward.
But when it came to Woodward at Washington: "I wasn't thinking about athletics at all," Emmert said. "I'd seen how good he was at his job at external affairs. ... It was only when I went on to do a search for a new athletic director that I realized that Scott was the obvious choice."
Woodward would go from no experience as an athletic director to interim AD to the head of the athletic department from 2008 until now. He faced fiscal challenges, fired former Notre Dame football coach Ty Willingham, and hired Steve Sarkisian and then Chris Petersen to lead the program, while also pushing through a $280 million renovation of Husky Stadium.
Emmert said Woodward's full-time move to athletics made sense.
"He's extremely skilled in working with people and understanding the complex, sometimes political, environment of college sport," Emmert said.
Initially, Woodward had removed himself from consideration as permanent AD, with Emmert wanting to keep him in his external relations role. When Woodward told reporters of the decision, he revealed how he'd assessed the athletic department as its interim leader. He had concerns about "some complacency issues and some acceptance of mediocrity. People were assuming that doing the right thing and winning were mutually exclusive, and they're not," he said, adding that "winning is a very important core value of what we do."
Louisiana roots
While Woodward got on well in the Northwest, he played up his East Texas-Louisiana roots during his introduction at A&M. He spotlighted his "two-syllabic" way of speaking and said that ancestry.com has revealed his father's side of the family as "rednecks chasing lumber mills" on both sides of the border.
But Woodward came from a well-known family growing up in Baton Rouge, La., and attended Catholic High and then LSU, graduating in 1985. His father was a dentist whose patients included Carville.
"I've just always known him," Carville said of Scott. "I was interested in politics and sports, and he was.
"He's a natural, a natural people person. He reads up on everything. He's aware of the world around him."
Woodward would work on some political campaigns with Carville, and the two still talk regularly. He became a political consultant in Baton Rouge before starting up his own government and public relations firm in the mid-1990s.
When Emmert took over as chancellor at LSU, he wanted to improve the relations with the state government and inquired about whom to hire.
"I met with state legislators on both sides of the aisle," Emmert said. "Sooner or later, they'd say, 'The guy that you really want talk to is Scott Woodward.'"
When Woodward started working for his alma mater, he also made an impression as a liaison to athletics.
"He was in and out of our offices quite a bit," Henry said. "Scott was athletic-minded even though he worked for [Emmert] in a different capacity. It was fun to be around; he cared. He was at events that he didn't have to be. He came to quite a few track meets."
Football coaching hires
Among Woodward's most notable moves at UW, said longtime Huskies booster Ron Crockett, were the hires of football coaches Sarkisian and Petersen.
"We'd gone through some really rough times in football," Crockett said. "With the advent of Chris Petersen, he's basically turned the football program around."
Woodward fired Willingham, now a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee, with the Huskies 0-7 midway through the 2008 season. Willingham stayed on to finish what would become an 0-12 season.
Woodward then hired Sarkisian, who was Southern Cal's offensive coordinator and had no head coaching experience. Sarkisian went 5-7 overall the next season before ticking off four straight winning seasons and bowl trips.
Sarkisian left after 2013 to become head coach at USC, where he was fired this past season reportedly because of problems with alcohol. Whether his drinking affected his tenure at UW has since been questioned as well.
Woodward hired Petersen from Boise State, with the Huskies going 8-6 and 7-6 in Petersen's first two seasons. Petersen had passed on several offers before leaving Boise.
"He's an extraordinary judge of people and he can be an extremely persuasive salesman," Emmert said of Woodward. "Coaches, especially high-profile coaches, you need to understand who they are ... and what they really need and what their fit is with your culture and context."
While Huskies football has improved, it hasn't competed for a Pac-12 title under Woodward, going 50-41 overall and 32-31 in conference play since the start of the 2009 season.
Woodward initially faced financial challenges at UW. One consequence was cutting the swimming programs in 2009, "which was hard," Emmert said.
UW ranks No. 4 in the Pac-12 in athlete graduation rates, and Carville and Emmert praised Woodward's ability to fit athletics into a university's larger mission of academics. "I suspect that's what President Young liked about him," Emmert said.
Young left Washington to take over at A&M on May 1.
Now Woodward joins him, with A&M looking to build on its place in the SEC, and with scrutiny at an all-time high for Sumlin's football program.
"I expect him to do a good job down there," Crockett said. "I think he will be accepted by the donor base, which is key in Texas, I hear. We're probably cream puffs up here relative to those people."
Key priorities for Woodward
-- Help the football program climb out of its rut in Year 5 in the SEC and under coach Kevin Sumlin. The Aggies haven't finished better than .500 in SEC play the last three seasons and lost two high-profile quarterbacks to transfers this season, and fans that helped foot the bill for the $485 million renovation of 102,000-seat Kyle Field are restless. Sumlin has four years and $20 million remaining on his contract.
-- Keep men's basketball on its upward swing. Departing AD Eric Hyman showed patience with coach Billy Kennedy, and it's paying off for the Aggies, ranked No. 10 nationally and looking for first NCAA tournament bid under Kennedy. Kennedy has two years remaining on his contract, but they are cosmetic, as the current deal includes no financial guarantees.
-- Be visible. A&M hired Eric Hyman to lead the transition to the SEC, but he kept a much lower profile than previous AD Bill Byrne. Aggies fans want to hear from the athletic boss about the direction and expectation for programs.
Who is new Texas A&M AD Scott Woodward? From an 'extraordinary judge of people' to an 'extremely persuasive salesman'
By Kate Hairopoulos, Staff Writer Contact Kate Hairopouloson Twitter
kHairopoulosAs new Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward prepares to take over the $120 million enterprise of Aggies athletics on Feb. 1, he arrives with the men's basketball program on the rise and coach Kevin Sumlin's all-important football program in a rut in the SEC West.
The new boss, who left the same role at the University of Washington, hit all the right notes at his formal introduction this month, beyond the well-placed "howdy" and "gig 'em." He praised the richness of traditions at a school that loves its Aggie rings, Corps of Cadets and Midnight Yell.
But as the real work begins in Aggieland, those who have worked closely with Woodward believe his unique background, Louisiana roots, adaptability and relationship with A&M President Michael Young, also formerly of the University of Washington, make him the right choice to lead A&M as it heads toward its fifth full year as a member of the Southeastern Conference. Woodward, 52, replaces Eric Hyman, who resigned this month after less than four years on the job.
"Honestly, A&M couldn't have cloned a better AD," said famed political strategist James Carville, a longtime associate of Woodward's.
A&M track coach Pat Henry, head of 35 NCAA championship teams, worked with Woodward at LSU from 2000-04 when Woodward was director of external affairs for Chancellor Mark Emmert, now president of the NCAA. Henry wouldn't divulge how many Aggies coaches had called to get the scoop on Woodward but acknowledged a degree of curiosity.
"I have very good feelings about Scott Woodward," Henry said, "and his ability to do this job at Texas A&M."
So what to expect from Woodward, who opted not to schedule additional media interviews until next month?
"College Station is a lot different from Seattle," Woodward told in-house 12th Man TV recently. "But for the most part, it's letting people do what they do well and empowering them to do great things. And that's mainly my philosophy ... to really delegate and expect and demand performance and greatness."
Accidental career
Woodward, friends say, has a passion for collegiate sports, but he didn't set out to build a career in them.
When Emmert left LSU to become president at Washington in 2004, Woodward went with him to work in external relations. Lobbying the state government had been Woodward's primary job at LSU, though Woodward had also been Emmert's liaison to athletics. That included building a relationship with then-Tigers football coach Nick Saban, the current Alabama coach who has won five national titles, including the 2003 championship at LSU.
"They got along very well," Emmert said of Saban and Woodward.
But when it came to Woodward at Washington: "I wasn't thinking about athletics at all," Emmert said. "I'd seen how good he was at his job at external affairs. ... It was only when I went on to do a search for a new athletic director that I realized that Scott was the obvious choice."
Woodward would go from no experience as an athletic director to interim AD to the head of the athletic department from 2008 until now. He faced fiscal challenges, fired former Notre Dame football coach Ty Willingham, and hired Steve Sarkisian and then Chris Petersen to lead the program, while also pushing through a $280 million renovation of Husky Stadium.
Emmert said Woodward's full-time move to athletics made sense.
"He's extremely skilled in working with people and understanding the complex, sometimes political, environment of college sport," Emmert said.
Initially, Woodward had removed himself from consideration as permanent AD, with Emmert wanting to keep him in his external relations role. When Woodward told reporters of the decision, he revealed how he'd assessed the athletic department as its interim leader. He had concerns about "some complacency issues and some acceptance of mediocrity. People were assuming that doing the right thing and winning were mutually exclusive, and they're not," he said, adding that "winning is a very important core value of what we do."
Louisiana roots
While Woodward got on well in the Northwest, he played up his East Texas-Louisiana roots during his introduction at A&M. He spotlighted his "two-syllabic" way of speaking and said that ancestry.com has revealed his father's side of the family as "rednecks chasing lumber mills" on both sides of the border.
But Woodward came from a well-known family growing up in Baton Rouge, La., and attended Catholic High and then LSU, graduating in 1985. His father was a dentist whose patients included Carville.
"I've just always known him," Carville said of Scott. "I was interested in politics and sports, and he was.
"He's a natural, a natural people person. He reads up on everything. He's aware of the world around him."
Woodward would work on some political campaigns with Carville, and the two still talk regularly. He became a political consultant in Baton Rouge before starting up his own government and public relations firm in the mid-1990s.
When Emmert took over as chancellor at LSU, he wanted to improve the relations with the state government and inquired about whom to hire.
"I met with state legislators on both sides of the aisle," Emmert said. "Sooner or later, they'd say, 'The guy that you really want talk to is Scott Woodward.'"
When Woodward started working for his alma mater, he also made an impression as a liaison to athletics.
"He was in and out of our offices quite a bit," Henry said. "Scott was athletic-minded even though he worked for [Emmert] in a different capacity. It was fun to be around; he cared. He was at events that he didn't have to be. He came to quite a few track meets."
Football coaching hires
Among Woodward's most notable moves at UW, said longtime Huskies booster Ron Crockett, were the hires of football coaches Sarkisian and Petersen.
"We'd gone through some really rough times in football," Crockett said. "With the advent of Chris Petersen, he's basically turned the football program around."
Woodward fired Willingham, now a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee, with the Huskies 0-7 midway through the 2008 season. Willingham stayed on to finish what would become an 0-12 season.
Woodward then hired Sarkisian, who was Southern Cal's offensive coordinator and had no head coaching experience. Sarkisian went 5-7 overall the next season before ticking off four straight winning seasons and bowl trips.
Sarkisian left after 2013 to become head coach at USC, where he was fired this past season reportedly because of problems with alcohol. Whether his drinking affected his tenure at UW has since been questioned as well.
Woodward hired Petersen from Boise State, with the Huskies going 8-6 and 7-6 in Petersen's first two seasons. Petersen had passed on several offers before leaving Boise.
"He's an extraordinary judge of people and he can be an extremely persuasive salesman," Emmert said of Woodward. "Coaches, especially high-profile coaches, you need to understand who they are ... and what they really need and what their fit is with your culture and context."
While Huskies football has improved, it hasn't competed for a Pac-12 title under Woodward, going 50-41 overall and 32-31 in conference play since the start of the 2009 season.
Woodward initially faced financial challenges at UW. One consequence was cutting the swimming programs in 2009, "which was hard," Emmert said.
UW ranks No. 4 in the Pac-12 in athlete graduation rates, and Carville and Emmert praised Woodward's ability to fit athletics into a university's larger mission of academics. "I suspect that's what President Young liked about him," Emmert said.
Young left Washington to take over at A&M on May 1.
Now Woodward joins him, with A&M looking to build on its place in the SEC, and with scrutiny at an all-time high for Sumlin's football program.
"I expect him to do a good job down there," Crockett said. "I think he will be accepted by the donor base, which is key in Texas, I hear. We're probably cream puffs up here relative to those people."
Key priorities for Woodward
-- Help the football program climb out of its rut in Year 5 in the SEC and under coach Kevin Sumlin. The Aggies haven't finished better than .500 in SEC play the last three seasons and lost two high-profile quarterbacks to transfers this season, and fans that helped foot the bill for the $485 million renovation of 102,000-seat Kyle Field are restless. Sumlin has four years and $20 million remaining on his contract.
-- Keep men's basketball on its upward swing. Departing AD Eric Hyman showed patience with coach Billy Kennedy, and it's paying off for the Aggies, ranked No. 10 nationally and looking for first NCAA tournament bid under Kennedy. Kennedy has two years remaining on his contract, but they are cosmetic, as the current deal includes no financial guarantees.
-- Be visible. A&M hired Eric Hyman to lead the transition to the SEC, but he kept a much lower profile than previous AD Bill Byrne. Aggies fans want to hear from the athletic boss about the direction and expectation for programs.
