Rick Dickson Responds
 | |
April 16, 2001
Rick Dickson - Hi Wave fans! I know it's been a while, but the questions have been kind of slow in coming. We'll update these as long as YOU keep sending in your questions, comments and concerns. We need more input from more of you. Here are the latest questions and answers...Hope to hear from you soon! Keep logging on.
On recruiting student-athletes at Tulane
I was watching Cincinnati on TV in the NCAA Tournament and there was a lot of talk about the graduation rates of Huggins' players. As a Tulane graduate, it made me think that you must be at a serious disadvantage in recruiting against those schools. Kids can go there and not even go to class and somehow still play, but I know that all Tulane students have to work very hard. Do Tulane's high academic standards hurt the university in recruiting against other schools?
Tulane Grad
New Orleans
Rick Dickson - "Actually, just the contrary is true. What Tulane's academic standards do is emphasize to all of us, and especially to our coaches, that we correctly identify from the pool of prospective student-athletes, those that are serious about being STUDENT-athletes. Kids that are going to college without any intent of pursuing and completing a degree should not be in the pool we're recruiting from. On the other hand, Tulane coaches have a great advantage in selling this wonderful Tier I university -- one of the Top 40 institutions in America -- and playing Division I athletics in a competitive conference in a city like New Orleans. That's a great package to present to a prospect."
Evaluating your first year
Now that you have been the athletic director at Tulane for more than a year, can you talk about what you feel has been accomplished in the last year, and what are the challenges you still want to tackle?
David Abbott
Baton Rouge, La.
Rick Dickson - "When I got here a year ago, many challenges were already identified, like financial support and attendance. However, many were not, including gender equity and the departmental infrastructure. We've tried to take a balanced approach to those challenges. The first step has been to develop an internal organization in order to effectively interact with our constituents -- ticketholders, fans, the media. I'm very pleased with the new staff. We've retooled many major areas and it's always fun putting together a new team. We're further along in that process after a year than I thought we might be and the results will be even more positive as we move forward. Secondly, we've retooled our external areas -- marketing, promotions, the Tulane Athletics Fund (T.A.F.). We're conducting marketing surveys, all with the goal of increasing participation in Tulane Athletics. Of course, the ultimate goal is to better service our student-athletes.
More changes are ahead in the near future. We're going to make facility improvements this summer and we're undergoing a master planning process of all of our facilities. We've entered into a relationship with ISP to better promote Tulane Athletics across the region. We've seen positive things happen, but certainly there is a lot of work to be done. I feel good about our coaching staff, the people we've brought in and the direction of the program."
Evaluating Shawn Finney's first year
I watch a lot of college basketball and followed Tulane pretty closely this year. I have always been a Kentucky fan and was wondering what Shawn Finney would be like. He seems very intense and it seems like he works very hard. I was impressed by how well the players seemed to listen and how they played hard all the way to the end, even when they had no chance. How have you evaluated Shawn Finney's first year at Tulane?
Doreen Lumbra
Slidell, La.
Rick Dickson - "I have to say I have been pleased with the progress we saw in Shawn's first year. It's been well-documented that we were short in the number of scholarship players we had this year. All things considered, with the late start he got due to his hiring in July, the limited amount of time he had to put together a staff and his short bench, I saw development and positive steps taken by the youngsters that were in the program. They set a standard that will carry over to the future. I anticipate great progress as Shawn and his staff add quality young men to the group that got started this year. I'm pleased with how hard they've worked on the court and in the classroom and look forward to a bright future."
On high profile coaches in Conference USA Everything I hear on TV says that now that Pitino is at Louisville, they will win the league every year. Unless they are saying that Calipari will win it because he has all of these great recruits. But then I see that Huggins is still winning at Cincinnati. Do you think that adding these big name coaches to Conference USA is making it harder and harder for the Green Wave to compete with everyone else?
Dennis Boisvert
River Ridge, La.
Rick Dickson - "I think that a stronger league is an asset to everyone within that league. High profile coaches bring national attention to Conference USA and to us. You'll find that stronger leagues have strong programs from top to bottom and coaches like Rick Pitino, John Calipari and Bob Huggins certainly help strengthen our league. We look forward to competing with all of them."
Competing for a national championship
Dear Rick,
I don't know if Tulane has ever won a national championship. I think it would be great if one of our teams could play at that level. I know it is tough for basketball and football to compete with some teams, but do you think any other Green Wave teams could win a National Championship?
Travis Cloos
New Orleans, La.
Rick Dickson - "A number of our teams have been to NCAA competition in recent years, and Tulane does in fact have a national title, the men's tennis team won that back in 1959. In recent years, our football team has been to a bowl game and was nationally-ranked, our women's basketball and baseball teams consistently make the NCAAs, our women's golf and men's tennis teams are always in the hunt for an NCAA appearance. Anytime your programs qualify for the NCAA playoffs and make it to bowls, certainly chances exist to compete for the national title. Our goal is to consistently provide a solid platform to which our programs can succeed at the national level. Although it's extremely difficult to win the national championship, especially in football and basketball, we feel that we can and do compete at that level in many sports."
On ISP and increased exposure
I like to follow Tulane as much as I can and it is awesome that I can go to this web site every day and find out everything about the teams. Great job! A little while ago, I saw that Tulane joined a company called ISP. I read that story, but I still do not really understand what it means for Tulane. Can you explain?
Pat Coakley
New Orleans, La.
I used to attend as many Tulane sporting events as I could, but now that I have moved out of the area, all I can do is follow on the web site, unless I can get WWL at night. I do have a satellite dish though. Are there going to be any basketball or football games on TV next year? It would be great to still watch the Green Wave!
Larry Murray
Tampa, Fla.
Rick Dickson - "I'm glad that you're following our website and tuning in to our broadcasts. TulaneGreenWave.com is a great source for information on all of our athletics programs. As for ISP, or International Sports Properties, our new relationship with them includes nearly all of our sponsorship efforts, including television, radio, signage, program advertisements, etc. It provides us with an opportunity on the television and radio side to put together networks to get broader reach and a professional look. These are very costly and time-consuming ventures that many smaller programs like ours struggle to operate. ISP gives us greater reach and more visibility as far as our broadcast opportunities while providing greater resources and the opportunity for national sponsors."
On honoring Skip Bertman
Just a note to say what a class act the presentation to Skip Bertman was (at the Tulane-LSU baseball game on Wednesday, April 11) and to hope we'll work hard to develop the kind of relationship that was impossible to make with Joe Dean....
William W. Watson
St. Joseph, La.
Rick Dickson - "Personally, having played college baseball, it's very apparent to me what Skip Bertman has done for college baseball in the state of Louisiana and in the nation. He raised the bar for so many programs with the success he's had there in Baton Rouge. I admire him so much as a coach and look forward to working with him as the new AD at LSU."
