Since assuming the role of Indiana University vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics on January 1, 2009, Fred Glass has worked tirelessly to return IU to its rightful place as one of the premier athletics departments in the country. Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie named Fred Glass as IU's vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics in the fall of 2008. At the press conference announcing his appointment, Glass set out the four priorities that have been the hallmark of his tenure as athletic director: 1.) play by the rules; 2.) achieve academically and graduate student-athletes; 3.) excel athletically and win championships; 4.) integrate athletics into the rest of the University. Now in just his third year as athletic director, Glass' dynamic and passionate leadership has been the driving force behind his alma mater's tremendous improvement in all of those areas. To help generate the financial resources necessary to pursue these priorities, Glass has cut his senior staff by nearly a half (4 of 9 positions) freeing up well over a half million dollars; secured the largest gift in the history of IU Athletics: $15 million from Bill and Gayle Cook; renegotiated a lucrative 10-year multimedia rights agreement with Learfield Sports; and negotiated a $3 million agreement to play Penn State at Fed-Ex Field, among other innovative revenue generating initiatives. In 2009, Glass's first year, football attendance increased by 32%, the third largest one year percentage increase in average attendance in the country and the highest IU attendance since 1992; and doubled 2009-2010 men's basketball student season ticket sales to 6,400 -highest in the conference- propelling Indiana to the 11th highest total attendance in the country and second highest in the conference. In 2010-2011, football attendance increased once again and Indiana finished second in the Big Ten in total men's basketball attendance. With the help of these additional resources, Glass has furthered the department's priorities by adding personnel to make IU's compliance staff the second largest in the conference; adding academic advisors to move IU from ninth to third in the conference in student-athlete to academic advisor ratio; building a state of the art, 25,800 square foot, $3 million academic center moving IU from the smallest to the fourth largest and most modern academic center in the conference; opening a 25,000 square foot strength and conditioning center, upon completion the largest facility of its kind in the Big Ten - replacing a facility that ranked last in the conference; opening Cook Hall, the finest basketball development facility and program shrine in the country; and otherwise improving the facilities of all 24 of IU's sports programs. He has also reached out to campus to forge stronger ties between Athletics and the Kelley School of Business, Jacobs School of Music, the Provost's Office, the Bloomington Faculty Council, and the School of Journalism, among others. In the fall of 2010, Glass unveiled a creed that represents Indiana University Athletics' core values, mission statement, and strategic plan all rolled into one, The Spirit of Indiana: 24 Sports, One Team. It serves as the standard by which IU Athletics will set priorities, allocate resources, and make decisions. To ensure that the department meets the promise of The Spirit of Indiana, Glass also established The Indiana University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Excellence Academy. Glass predicted that the Excellence Academy would soon emerge as the nation's most innovative and comprehensive student-athlete development program. The Excellence Academy integrates athletic department and university resources to assess, measure and ensure progress toward specific personal development goals. The Academy fully integrates the athletic department's academic support and life skills development programs, innovative strength and conditioning regimens, advanced sports medicine and athletic training services, expert sports psychology staff, and one of the very few full-time sports nutritionists in intercollegiate athletics, along with cutting-edge resources from other parts of the university, including the School of Public Health, the Office of the Provost, and the School of Education among others. In 2011, Glass established the Spirit of Indiana Showcase, an annual awards gala celebrating the top athletic and academic achievements of IU student-athletes over the last year. Glass also announced the creation of The Spirit of Indiana Director's Award that honors the senior male and female student-athletes who, on the whole, best personify the tenets of The Spirit of Indiana: 24 Sports, One Team. In Glass' tenure, Indiana student-athletes have excelled in the classroom and on the playing field. 94% of IU student-athletes who exhaust their eligibility earn an IU degree. For the spring 2011 semester, the all-sport GPA was 3.19, and in 2011, over half of Indiana's sports (13) earned a perfect APR score of 1000. In the 2010-11 school year, 242 Indiana University student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten distinction. On the field since Glass's arrival, six IU teams have won Big Ten Championships, 14 student-athletes have been named Big Ten Player of the Year in their respective sports (most in the conference), and the department has produced four NCAA individual champions. Glass has also made key coaching hires in his short tenure. In the fall of 2009, Glass hired men's soccer coach Todd Yeagley who went on to win the Big Ten championship and Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in his first season at Indiana in 2010. In December of 2010, Glass hired highly respected and record setting offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson from Oklahoma as Indiana's new head football coach. Under Glass' stewardship, Indiana Athletics has been solvent financially. In 2009-2010, Indiana was one of 22 Division I public universities whose athletic departments made money. Glass loves supporting IU's student-athletes and often attends competitions and practices, including travelling on road trips with the teams. Glass enjoys being present with the student-athletes, whether it's wearing a kilt at a field hockey game as a result of a challenge with players, sitting on the bench with the volleyball and softball teams, riding the bus with the baseball team, or jumping in the pool with the women's swimming and diving team upon winning their third straight Big Ten title. He also enjoys interacting with IU fans and is a fixture at pregame tailgate gatherings and cheering with the fans in the stands. As a university vice president, he often attends academic events on campus, including the monthly meetings of the President's Cabinet of which he is a member. Glass has established an athletics sustainability initiative with the goal of becoming "the greenest athletic department in the Big Ten". He served as co-chair of Indiana University's 2010 United Way campaign, during which the Department of Athletics participation rate soared from 9% to 80%. In April, 2010 Glass was presented the Trevor R. Brown Award by the students of the Indiana Daily Student and the Arbutus for his contributions to the experiences of student journalists. In the spring of 2011, Glass had his head shaved to stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer at a St. Baldrick's event in Indianapolis, raising over $20,000 for the cause. Glass is a double graduate of Indiana University who had been a well known Indianapolis lawyer and civic leader before being named a vice president and the director of intercollegiate athletics at his alma mater. Born in Indianapolis, Glass earned bachelor's and law degrees from IU in 1981 and 1984, respectively. Glass played a central role in several major sports-related initiatives in Indianapolis, including negotiating the 30-year agreement to keep the Colts in Indianapolis, developing Lucas Oil Stadium and an expanded Indiana Convention Center, and helping to negotiate the arrangement to regularly bring Final Fours and other major NCAA events to the city. Formerly a partner in the law firm of Baker & Daniels, Glass served as chairman of the firm's management committee and as the volunteer president of the city's Capital Improvement Board. Glass also has served as Chief of Staff to then Governor Evan Bayh, Chairman of then Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson's transition team, and in a number of civic, legal, and sports related positions. Glass also served as president of the City of Indianapolis' 2011 Super Bowl Bid Committee, which although not successful for that year, has been credited with successfully laying the groundwork for the city's successful bid for 2012. At the time of Glass's appointment Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, said, "I worked very closely with Fred on the Super Bowl effort, and I was very impressed with his vision, leadership and judgment. Indiana University has made an outstanding choice." Upon his appointment of Glass, Indiana University President Michael McRobbie said, "In all of these major undertakings, Fred demonstrated a remarkable talent for leadership, for mastering the details of big challenges, for diplomacy, and for consensus building. He has a well-earned reputation as someone who can get the big things done. He is exactly the person we need to take on the challenges our Athletics Department will encounter in the next decade." Glass and his wife, Barbara, who Fred met at an IU football game and graduated from IU in 1980, are the parents of four children. They are: Katie, 25, a 2008 IU Kelley School graduate who recently married Tom Askey, also a 2008 Kelley School graduate; Joey, 23 (Marquette University `10); Connor, 19 (IU class of `14); and George, 16. Fred, Barbara, Katie, and Tom are life members of the IU Alumni Association. |
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