Coaches Reactions to New AD

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Beaumont, Texas- Marco Born made a phone call to each of Lamar’s 17 Div. I coaches on Thursday after he was announced as the university’s next athletics director.

He thought it was important to establish an open line of communication, and according to softball coach Holly Bruder, he was right.

“It only took about two minutes of his time to call me, but that can make a big difference,” Bruder said.

Born, who spent the last four years at Louisiana Tech, will be the third person to lead Lamar’s athletic department in less than five months. Norman Bellard served in an interim role after Jason Henderson resigned as athletics director in November.

In order to bring some stability at the top of Lamar’s athletic department, Born will need to develop a strong rapport with the school’s coaches. Communication is essential, coaches say, but not the only important aspect of such a relationship.

“I think you have to spend time with the coaches, not just at games or practices, but really getting to know them,” Born said. “It’s important to have those relationships in the good times and bad.”

All of Lamar’s athletic coaches were told of Born’s hiring during an 8 a.m. meeting on Thursday called by Bellard. When the meeting was over, it was Bruder who asked the first question.

“I wanted to know what set him apart from the other candidates,” Bruder said. “Norman, who I think did a great job in the interim role, really said it best. He said, ‘This is a guy who is a proven fundraiser and also a former athlete.”

Born played on the tennis team at Middle Tennessee State, where he won a national championship in doubles play during the 2007 season. A former athlete is easier for coaches to relate with, Bruder said.

“In collegiate sports, we deal with situations that never come up in any other business,” Bruder said. “So I like that he’s a former athlete. Maybe he’ll understand those situations a little bit better than someone else might.”

Although Born is an unknown among many Lamar coaches, Mike Schultz has a brief history with his new boss.

Schultz, now Lamar’s head football coach, was an offensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State in 2010 while Born worked in the school’s athletic department.

He remembers Born if only for his height.

“How can you forget a 6-foot-9 guy?,” Schultz said. “But I think it’s a great hire for us and I’m excited about it. His fundraising record speaks for itself and from talking to him today, his communication skills are there, too. That’s probably the biggest thing for me is solid communication.”

Bruder hopes that communication will help establish what exactly is expected of the coaches at Lamar, something she feels has been lacking within the athletic department.

“We haven’t had a standard structure of what the expectations are, which I think would help a lot of us,” Bruder said. “As long as you support the coaches, don’t micromanage and have Lamar University at the forefront of your priorities, then you’re cool with me.”

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