Mark LaBarbera to Retire

[usc4valpo]

I hope President Padilla understands that any choice of AD coming out of DePaul athletics crap pool would be a huge mistake.

Tiffini Grimes would be a great selection, and she will ensure the great Eugene Parker is  finally selected to the Valpo Hall of Fame.

[VUSupport]

It's already hitting the internet that its going to be Dr. Charles Small from Iowa State:

Valparaiso will name Iowa State Senior Assoc. AD for Student Services Small as its next AD, per CollegeAD. The Beacons will introduce its next AD at 11am local time. (link)

[vu84v2]

Everything looks good and promising and I hope that he does well. Don't forget that, beyond Iowa State's turnaround in basketball they have also had major improvements in football. My only concern looking at the new AD's career history is that he does not appear to have a history of raising money–and that is a big part of an AD's job.

[crusadermoe]

That's a good point. But maybe Padilla plans to be the big player with Mr. Small on those key donor visits for athletics.  We can only hope. Charles sure seems likable and genuine.

[usc4valpo]

I like the hire and I like a fresh approach to athletics at Valpo. It's time to succeed at a higher level and get out of this funk.

[vu84v2]

The fundraising experiene can be made up for. If the school can get the sports and academics back up into higher quality territory, then the promotional energy and fundraising ease will follow.

I like the hire overall, but I beg to differ on raising the quality of athletics prior to raising money. In reality, the two are complementary. You need to raise some new funding to create resources to improve sports - then (hopefully) the sports improve and you can raise more money....and then repeat the cycle.

While raising the quality of academics should always be a priority, I will again argue that the quality of academics–relative to peers–is high (certainly in business and engineering, with which I am most familiar).