Buc sports’ strategic plan likely to upend some norms
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-day series on the impact name, image and likeness is having on East Tennessee State University athletics.
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — German forward Tarik Pannholzer delivered the last-second corner kick that Scottish defender Chris McKenna put into the back of the Mercer net to give East Tennessee State University’s men’s soccer team its first regular season championship in six years last fall.
RELATED: ETSU AD: NIL ushering in big changes in Buc sports
That kind of international presence could diminish on the Buccaneer pitch in coming years, Athletic Director Richard Sander told News Channel 11 this week.
The university’s athletic department has embarked on a strategic planning process, to better confront challenges brought on by name, image and likeness (NIL) and the money Sander expects to shift to NIL and away from traditional athletic booster funds.
Sander said that will involve prioritizing which sports will be first in line for the funds needed to remain competitive in the Southern Conference.
“This strategic plan and developing a vision of how we’re going to be able to compete, a lot of it comes down to allocating of resources that make the most sense for us and creates the greatest benefit for the university and the community,” Sander said.
An early survey with 390 responses made some things clear.
“Men’s basketball was the number one priority for people in our community — it’s not even close,” Sander said.
“If we are going to be competitive, and we think that men’s basketball and women’s basketball and football bring the most to the dance, we have to allocate resources based upon those priorities.
“I think that’s where we’re going to get to, and that is a little different than the way you know it’s been operated in the past. So there’s going to be hard decisions that are made.”
‘Refocusing of goals’
ETSU’s athletics website lists 17 sports, and 14 of them aren’t named basketball or football.
Sander said the small numbers of athletes, high level of competitiveness and specific funding earmarked for men’s golf and both tennis programs make their international flavor likely to survive.
That leaves a number of programs from soccer, baseball, softball and track and field to volleyball, cross country and triathlon facing at least some uncertainty.
“I don’t foresee elimination of sports,” Sander said. “What I see is a maybe a refocusing of the the goals of particular sports.”
Key to those decisions will be aligning with ETSU’s mission of enhancing the region’s quality of life.
“Maybe one of the things we do now is, rather than recruit nationally in some sports, rather than play nationally in some sports, we will set guidelines,” Sander said.
“We are going to recruit in-state, we’re going to recruit regionally, we are going to play contests against people in a geographical area that is much closer. That would be an example of how this may move forward.”
Sander said that could mean the baseball or softball team traveling two hours to Radford for a non-conference series rather than making the 16-hour trip to Waco, Texas to play Baylor, as the team did in 2022.
It could mean more players from Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina and fewer from Montreal, Montenegro or Minneapolis.
“Rather than go to Kansas City, Missouri to recruit a kid, why don’t we recruit a kid from Bristol,” Sander said.
“A kid from Kansas City, Missouri, may be a little bit better. But hopefully, we can get that kid from Bristol and bring him in and coach them up, and then they will have a great experience and they will stay in this community, and they’ll be contributors to the quality of life in this area.”
While the department looks at how to cope with an expected, but not certain, need for belt-tightening, Sander said it’s also reviewing how coaches and staff interact with athletes in the post-COVID era.
“I think that has really changed their outlook on life. So it’s a tough time. I think social media has really impacted the way young people respond and the way they engage, the way they communicate.”
He said ETSU has assembled a great coaching staff — following numerous departures over the past few years — and a good administrative group.
“I think we all kind of have that same common mindset that we need to do what we can to create a great student-athlete experience that helps them in their life.”
The department’s also looking at a half dozen or so “functional areas” to try and maximize their value. That includes fundraising and marketing, communications, external engagement including social media and business and finance.
“Video is such an important piece of it, our ESPN Plus stuff that we do. How do we do that better? How can we message better? Those are all things that will be included in this strategic plan.”
Sander knows that when some changes are implemented — and even in the uncertain interim — people might begin worrying about whether their proverbial ox is going to get gored.
“Whenever you have change, there are going to be people who don’t always agree with you. I get it. The good thing about that is people care. If nobody cared about anything, then they never say anything.
“I’d much rather have people care and say, ‘hey, I think you’re a doofus for doing that’ than just go, ‘who cares.'”
He said the process remains very preliminary, with nothing “set in stone.” Some good donations appear to be on the horizon, so things could change.
And wherever any of the school’s sports programs wind up in a new financial pecking order, he said Buc sports will have one consistent focus.
“We’ve got young, committed, professional, motivated coaches who care a great deal about their student-athletes, but also understand that there’s a scoreboard out there and we’re trying to win because we want to win.
“We want to be competitive. I think if you don’t want to be the best that you can be, then you’re probably in the wrong business.”
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