Dodds’ legacy leaves giant shoes for Powers to fill

By Jay Plotkin

DeLoss Dodds’ announcement of his plan to retire as athletic director at the University of Texas marks the close of an unprecedented era of success.

In his 32 years guiding mens’ athletics, [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]  Dodds led Texas into uncharted territory, raising money, the school’s profile and helping shape college athletics. He helped bring about the formation of the Big XII in 1996 and then helped keep it together in 2011. He oversaw the formation of the Longhorn Foundation, the athletic department’s wildly-successful alumni fundraising arm. And his watch saw the creation of the Longhorn Network.

For all Texas’ on-field success during Dodds’ watch, how the athletic director turned the program into a money-maker may be his lasting legacy, John Maher writes in the Austin American-Statesman.

“But what Dodds’ department did best, better than all others engaged in college sports, was create revenue,” Maher wrote.

Money won’t be the only legacy. The coaches Dodds hired in the most crucial roles delivered wins. Overall, the Longhorn men’s athletic teams produced 108 conference and 14 national titles under his watch, including the 2005 national championship in football and College World Series titles in 2002 and 2005. The men’s basketball team reached the Final Four in 2003 and made two other Elite 8 appearances.

The American-Statesman on Wednesday offered readers an interactive timeline of Dodds’ tenure at Texas.

Dodds’ announcement Tuesday afternoon came nearly three weeks after Orangebloods.com first reported that Dodds would retire. Kirk Bohls reported in the American-Statesman Monday that Dodds would announce his retirement this week.

How Texas moves forward after Dodds leaves his post will determine if the school goes on a different path or continues to take the road less traveled and continues as a giant in the world of NCAA athletics.

Who Texas President Bill Powers should turn to as Dodds’ successor will be the subject of great debate, one Powers told Bohls he won’t rush. Dodds’ retirement doesn’t take full effect until Aug. 31, 2014.

“Powers told me Tuesday the school hasn’t decided whether to hire a search firm for assistance but said, ‘We very well might,’” Bohls wrote. “He stressed he hasn’t contacted one candidate but wants to have a new athletic director named ‘this fall.’”

Where Powers should search will be a topic of great discussion in the coming weeks. Bohls surmised a preliminary short list might include Big XII Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck, Florida’s Jeremy Foley and TCU’s Chris Del Conte to name a few. He said Powers wouldn’t tip his hand.

“We’ll be competitive,” Powers told Bohls. “But I’m not going to talk about Bob Bowlsby or any individual.”

Chuck Carlton even mentioned the name of Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione, though no one knows how tough it might be to cross the Red River and change colors from crimson to burnt orange.

The Houston Chronicle posted a slideshow ranking possible replacements. The paper lists Luck as the odds-on favorite, followed by Bowlsby and Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick, who oversees a brand as big if not bigger than Texas. The list included Castiglione as well, with the following caveat. “It would be interesting to see if Longhorn power brokers would really consider a candidate from one of the school’s biggest rivals.”

Orangebloods.com also offers what it’s calling a “Hot Board,” charting the candidates it figures to replace Dodds. It includes Louisville AD Tom Jurich, whose resume includes overseeing an athletic program that in 2012-13 reached the BCS in football, won the national championship in men’s basketball and reached the national championship game in women’s basketball.

 

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