It has been more than 18 months that the University of Hawaii at Hilo has been functioning as an NCAA Division II member without an athletic director.
These administrators don’t play the games, they don’t coach, sometimes, depending on their personal style, you don’t even see them, but they are absolutely indispensible when it comes to high-performing athletic departments anywhere in the country.
The programs that are continually successful have AD’s behind the scenes making it happen. If you take the time to go look at schools that endure underperforming athletic programs on a regular basis, you won’t find any hot AD candidates, sought after by other schools.