The athletics department at Salt Lake Community College has undergone some changes in recent months due to the retirement of the previous athletic director, Kevin Dustin.
Dustin, who now spends his days traveling with his wife, left Ron Loghry in charge of the program. While Loghry has done an excellent job in the interim role, a permanent AD for the Bruins is much needed. And a lot goes into finding and installing the top administrator of an athletic program.
Athletic directors are a vital part of the athletics department. The job requires oversight of all aspects of the department, ensuring student-athletes and coaches have everything they need to be successful. Duties can include hiring, scheduling practices and games, budgeting and ordering equipment.
Brett Perozzi, the vice president for Student Affairs at SLCC, spoke about what goes into selecting a new AD.
“We form a committee, that is a screening committee, who essentially will narrow down the candidates through a couple of phases,” Perozzi said.
The phases for choosing an AD include: a minimum qualification screen, a committee review and scoring of the applications, a Zoom interview of typically 8-10 candidates through short interviews, and lastly, a final interview and campus tour with Perozzi.
This committee is not just made up of big names within SLCC; the group consists of eight members, one of which is a student-athlete.
DaSheek Akwenye chairs the committee. Jacquie Spoon, Jeremy Forster, Andrea Packer, Shane Crabtree, Jillana AhLoe, women’s basketball head coach Marcilina Grayer, and student-athlete Ryen Smith make up the remaining members.
Smith is a member of the women’s volleyball team. She spoke about how a student-athlete needed to be included on the committee.
“I was selected to be on the committee because the school felt that student-athletes should have a say in the choice of a new athletic director, because it [the selection] affects us directly,” Smith said. “It is great that we get to have some input in the decision. I was excited to be included and to represent other athletes.”
While Perozzi believes there won’t be any long-term issues from not having a permanent AD, he does mention that SLCC hopes to appoint a new permanent AD by July 1 at the latest. Given the current pace of progress, they are aiming to announce the new AD sooner.
Many aspects of the program may require immediate attention from the new AD. However, Perozzi and Smith both believe the first thing that person should focus on is not only student development but also getting students involved in sports at SLCC.
“We want someone who listens to us and makes sure that we have what we need, whether that’s academic support, mental support, or physical support,” Smith said. “I’d like to also see them create school spirit and get more people involved in our game days!”
Touring the campus with the final candidates will begin within the next month to a month and a half. With the naming of the new AD, Perozzi hopes to generate momentum for the program and draw more attention to the school’s student-athletes.
“It’s not just about being competitive or winning games. It’s also about how we are helping students become great contributing members of society,” Perozzi said. “I actually truly believe there’s a lot that student-athletes learn during their athletic experiences and being aware of that and capitalizing on that is really what a great athletics program should be.”
