Sexton promoted to VP Stu. Affairs w/ new title Exec Director, Boatright Deputy AD

[1972Shocker]

My take, and this is just a total guess, is that they still want Eric's proficiency as a fund-raiser and glad hander but they want someone with perhaps more training and focus in athletics to handle the day-to-day nuts and bolts operations of the athletic department. Not sure about the titles but the separation of duties may not be all that bad.

[Dan]

Is Boatright qualified to be the AD? As much as people make fun of Sexton, the guy can raise money which is one of the most important aspect of having a successful athletic department. Boatright seems more like an operations guy to me, but I've never met him. Could be that they're handing over all the internal responsibilities of the AD to Boatright and leaving the fundraising to Sexton.

[_kai_]

Guys, a quick clarification which was pointed out to me on Twitter, and I've already changed the title of this thread. Eric Sexton is still in charge of the AD, he has a new title of Executive Director of Athletics. He also has an additional promotion as Vice President of Student Affairs. Darren Boatright is promoted to Deputy AD and COO of Athletics. Sounds like Boatright will run day to day operations and report directly to Sexton.

Check this article out for the clarification http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/cnews/?cnid=16897

[wusphlash]

I've never had any issues with Dr. Sexton being AD. After all, he was put their by Dr. Beggs, a much smarter man than I.

Having come from the corporate world I am getting tired of name/title games. All it ever did for me was fog up any possibility of transparency and cloudy up who's responsible for what.

I will say in my limited exposure to Darren Boatright I have been impressed.

One important question, does Darren Boatright have the power to hire and fire?

[bleed yellow]

It seems like with Bardo in charge, there's a lot more activity on campus compared to when Beggs was in charge.. More or less activity isn't a bad thing either.
This recent shift in the athletic department could of merely boiled down to someone asking Sexton if he felt he needed some assistance with the load of responsibility as A.D. to improve the overall atmosphere. Take Ksu an example, their A.D. is good at raising money, but terrible at everything else and a result whenever he speaks to the public, it sounds so delusional that it's comparable to a North Korean Dictator.

[1972Shocker]

I've never had any issues with Dr. Sexton being AD. After all, he was put their by Dr. Beggs, a much smarter man than I.

Having come from the corporate world I am getting tired of name/title games. All it ever did for me was fog up any possibility of transparency and cloudy up who's responsible for what.

I will say in my limited exposure to Darren Boatright I have been impressed.

One important question, does Darren Boatright have the power to hire and fire?

I suppose the devil is in the details. Hard to discern anything for sure from job titles. That will probably come out eventually but unless you have the job descriptions in front of you hard to tell exactly who has responsibility for what at this point.

[DwShock]

This whole thing is odd. Are we the only school that doesn't have an AD now? Sure we have two guys that I believe are capable of handling things but not one guy who is the AD by title . Either way I don't see much changing it just seems odd.

Now if anyone asks who is Wichita States AD I can say well Sexton is the executive director of athletics and boatright is the Deputy Director and COO. The looks will be priceless.

[shockmonster]

This whole thing is odd. Are we the only school that doesn't have an AD now? Sure we have two guys that I believe are capable of handling things but not one guy who is the AD by title . Either way I don't see much changing it just seems odd.

Now if anyone asks who is Wichita States AD I can say well Sexton is the executive director of athletics and boatright is the Deputy Director and COO. The looks will be priceless.

Sounds like a trial period and transition of leadership to me. The job is his to lose and DB has to prove himself.

[DUShock]

I suspect Boatwight's COO title is there as more of an identifier of responsibility. COO is something that most folks can wrap their heads around when it comes to understanding what goes on. As was mentioned by @shockmonster: sounds like a trial period.

[_kai_]

I think you guys are focusing too much on the athletic side of this announcement. I think the real telling part is Wade Robinson stepping down. Especially since day one, Bardo's biggest goal is students on campus and increasing the appeal of student life to attract the increase in student population. Robinson was in his position of VP of Student Affairs when Bardo took over. To me it's just a matter of figuring out which came first, the cart or the horse? Did Robinson leave, and Sexton was the best guy for the job. Or did Sexton want this job, Bardo wanted him in that job, and Robinson leaving is just a benefit of the change.

[Play Angry]

This seems like great news to me.

ADES, for all his faults, possesses a valuable skillset with access to some very deep pockets. The university still gets to use those strengths under the current arrangement and the foreseeable transition.

Most (not all) gripes during his tenure, some of which I have participated in, centered around operations and a lack of personal charisma. The university appears to be delegating most of the operations responsibilities elsewhere now.

Seems like a win-win. We will see if it plays out according to hopes and expectations.

[Shock Top]

I think you guys are focusing too much on the athletic side of this announcement. I think the real telling part is Wade Robinson stepping down. Especially since day one, Bardo's biggest goal is students on campus and increasing the appeal of student life to attract the increase in student population. Robinson was in his position of VP of Student Affairs when Bardo took over. To me it's just a matter of figuring out which came first, the cart or the horse? Did Robinson leave, and Sexton was the best guy for the job. Or did Sexton want this job, Bardo wanted him in that job, and Robinson leaving is just a benefit of the change.

IIRC, Bardo choose NOT to renew WR's contract.

That happened about two months ago, I believe.

[1972Shocker]

I think you guys are focusing too much on the athletic side of this announcement. I think the real telling part is Wade Robinson stepping down. Especially since day one, Bardo's biggest goal is students on campus and increasing the appeal of student life to attract the increase in student population. Robinson was in his position of VP of Student Affairs when Bardo took over. To me it's just a matter of figuring out which came first, the cart or the horse? Did Robinson leave, and Sexton was the best guy for the job. Or did Sexton want this job, Bardo wanted him in that job, and Robinson leaving is just a benefit of the change.

With what Dr. Bardo's growth plan a strong sales person and fund-raiser would probably be of value in that position. Furthermore, his WSU experience in government relations will come in handy as well. In fact, his experience and training probably render him more capable of this job than as an athletic director.

Overall Eric did a reasonably good job as AD. Not sure I liked how the Gene Stephenson firing went down and I am concerned about what is going on in the WBB program. However, dealing with those kind of situations that perhaps involve getting down and dirty with some strong-willed coaches are probably not Eric's strong suit.

Also with conference realignment still a hot button topic perhaps this was a good time to make a change and move from somewhat of a caretaker AD to perhaps a little bit more aggressive AD.

It is a very interesting move. Hopefully, it proves to be beneficial for all involved.

Dr. Bardo may give a new meaning to what it means to be a Mover, Shaker, Doer and Shocker!

[Shocker-maniac]

Exclusive: WSU provost says Eric Sexton asked for VP of student affairs post

"Eric Sexton asked his bosses at Wichita State University to consider giving him additional leadership responsibilities.

It happened about the time university leaders were ready to begin a search for an interim vice president of student affairs to replace Wade Robinson, whose contract was not renewed and will leave WSU in June."

“We looked at what he has been doing in athletics. We want that to be the experience of all of our students.”

"With the change, Sexton will eventually move out of his office in Charles Koch Arena into WSU’s Rhatigan Student Center."

http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/news/2015/04/21/exclusive-wsu-provost-says-eric-sexton-asked-for.html?ana=twt&t=1429641762

Sorry can't get link to work on my phone. Little help please?

[1972Shocker]

Here is a workable link:

http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/news/2015/04/21/exclusive-wsu-provost-says-eric-sexton-asked-for.html