Sources: UA Athletic Director Jeff Long a Candidate for Stanford University A.D.
By:
Updated: May 18, 2012
Matt Turner, with our sister station KNWA in Fayetteville, has confirmed that University of Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long is one of the candidates to replace Bob Bowlsby as the new athletic director at Stanford University. That's according to three separate sources close to the situation, and one of the people providing the information is a school official at the University of Arkansas.
The primary source, who wants to remain anonymous, says Stanford officials have "reached out" to Long about filling the vacancy but added that Long has not yet responded to the inquiries.
The source also said that Long is not a finalist for the job despite rumors circulating on internet message boards.
As for Stanford's former athletic director, Bowlsby informed school officials on May 1, 2012 that he's leaving the university to become the commissioner of the Big-12 Conference.
Long joined the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2007 and became the Director of Razorback Athletics on Jan. 1, 2008, after serving as an advisor to UA Chancellor Dr. John A. White. During his initial months at Arkansas, Long completed the search for the Razorbacks' new football coach and blended the University's separate men's and women's athletics department into one even stronger program.
Long recently gained national praise for the way he handled the scandal and eventual dismissal of former Razorback Football Coach Bobby Petrino. His news conference announcing Petrino's termination was a major topic among local and national members of the media. In the following days, quite a few analysts said Long has become one of the most respected athletic directors in the country for that situation along with his efforts to improve all sports at the University of Arkansas.
When asked to respond to the claims, Long declined to give a statement. KNWA and the Razorback Nation sports team will continue to follow this developing story and will provide additional information as it become available.
According to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, Long has more than two decades of experience in athletic administration at the Division I level including stops at the University of Oklahoma, University of Michigan, Virginia Tech University and Eastern Kentucky University prior to his dual positions at the University of Arkansas. While known as an innovator in athletic department management, Long also understands the coach's perspective from time spent in coaching and administrative staff positions at Duke University, Rice University and North Carolina State University.
Long's online bio also states that he served on the NCAA Management Council as one of the athletic administrators that oversaw the operations and regulation for Division I. His experience as an athletic director and administrator in America's most prestigious conferences - the Big XII, Big Ten, Big East, Atlantic Coast and now Southeastern Conference - has made his council highly sought on key issues regarding collegiate athletics. During his career, Long has served in five of the six Bowl Championship Series leagues.
Prior to Arkansas, Long redefined Pitt athletics, most notably through the "Quest for Excellence" campaign. Designed to enhance the student-athlete experience for Panther athletes through scholarship endowments and capital gifts for facility construction and renovation, the Quest resulted in almost $34 million in just over two and a half years. In 2005, Long dedicated a new Olympic sports weight room at Fitzgerald Field House as well as training facilities for gymnastics and wrestling. When he departed Pittsburgh, Long had plans for new competition venues for baseball, softball, soccer and track and field, plus enhancements for the Pitt Band.
His commitment to building the Pitt athletics brand resulted in a new primary mark for the Panthers which returned the powerful "PITT" brand to the University of Pittsburgh. He established a partnership with adidas for uniforms and apparel for all 19 Pitt teams and an agreement with ISP Sports, one of the nation's leading college sports marketing firms, to elevate Pitt's profile from a local to national level. Through Long's leadership the department worked with its partners to begin a weekly television program, "Panthers Weekly," which highlighted all 19 sports on FSN Pittsburgh, a monthly magazine publication, "Panther Eyes," and raised the profile of radio broadcasts with Clear Channel for football, basketball, hockey, women's basketball and other programs.
Long's direction of the Panther program resulted not only in the mandatory recertification by the NCAA of Pitt athletics in 2005, but the citation of the University of Pittsburgh by the peer review team that he led a program that was a "model for others to follow." Among the student-athlete changes initiated by Long was the formulation of a new position for career and life skills coordinator, developed in concert with the University of Pittsburgh's Provost.
Long's four-year tenure added up to Pittsburgh becoming one of the nation's top programs, notably the Panthers' selection as the No. 17 overall program in the nation in the December 2006 Sports Illustrated on Campus' All-Sport Rankings.
As an athletic leader, Long was a key advocate for the Big East during the league's time of membership transition. Thanks in large part to Long's voice of leadership, the Big East maintained its position as a key member of the Bowl Championship System, and the Pitt Panthers earned the Big East's automatic berth in 2004 at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Along with his tenure on the Executive Council, Long also served on the NCAA's Sports Wagering Task Force in 2004, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association.
Before arriving at Pitt, Long was senior associate athletic director at Oklahoma for two and a half years. Managing the external affairs of the Sooners, he was an innovator in his direction of the key image areas of marketing and promotions, licensing, media relations, ticketing, radio and television rights and SoonerVision productions. In addition, Long was the primary administrator for the Sooners' highly successful football and men's basketball programs, along with sport supervision of baseball, wrestling and both golf teams.
Long's first appointment as a director of athletics was at Eastern Kentucky where he served for two and a half years. He made several revisions to the EKU athletic infrastructure and completed several facility projects. Long created the first modern corporate partner and sponsorship structure at EKU. Prior to Eastern, Long had a brief stay with Virginia Tech as an associate athletics director.
He began his lengthy career in college athletic administration at the University of Michigan, hired by legendary coach and athletics director, the late Bo Schembechler. During his seasons with the Wolverines, Long was promoted through a series of posts to the position of associate athletics director.
A former two-sport athlete at Ohio Wesleyan, Long earned seven varsity letters for the Bishops in football and baseball before completing his degree in economics in 1982. He started his post graduate career in athletics as a graduate assistant football coach at the cradle of coaches, Miami of Ohio. Long earned his master's in education at Miami in 1983, moving on to football staff positions at Rice, Duke and NC State prior to joining Michigan.
An Ohio native from Kettering, Long is married to the former Fanny Gellrich of Ann Arbor, Mich. The Longs have two daughters, Stephanie and Christina.
The primary source, who wants to remain anonymous, says Stanford officials have "reached out" to Long about filling the vacancy but added that Long has not yet responded to the inquiries.
The source also said that Long is not a finalist for the job despite rumors circulating on internet message boards.
As for Stanford's former athletic director, Bowlsby informed school officials on May 1, 2012 that he's leaving the university to become the commissioner of the Big-12 Conference.
Long joined the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2007 and became the Director of Razorback Athletics on Jan. 1, 2008, after serving as an advisor to UA Chancellor Dr. John A. White. During his initial months at Arkansas, Long completed the search for the Razorbacks' new football coach and blended the University's separate men's and women's athletics department into one even stronger program.
Long recently gained national praise for the way he handled the scandal and eventual dismissal of former Razorback Football Coach Bobby Petrino. His news conference announcing Petrino's termination was a major topic among local and national members of the media. In the following days, quite a few analysts said Long has become one of the most respected athletic directors in the country for that situation along with his efforts to improve all sports at the University of Arkansas.
When asked to respond to the claims, Long declined to give a statement. KNWA and the Razorback Nation sports team will continue to follow this developing story and will provide additional information as it become available.
According to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, Long has more than two decades of experience in athletic administration at the Division I level including stops at the University of Oklahoma, University of Michigan, Virginia Tech University and Eastern Kentucky University prior to his dual positions at the University of Arkansas. While known as an innovator in athletic department management, Long also understands the coach's perspective from time spent in coaching and administrative staff positions at Duke University, Rice University and North Carolina State University.
Long's online bio also states that he served on the NCAA Management Council as one of the athletic administrators that oversaw the operations and regulation for Division I. His experience as an athletic director and administrator in America's most prestigious conferences - the Big XII, Big Ten, Big East, Atlantic Coast and now Southeastern Conference - has made his council highly sought on key issues regarding collegiate athletics. During his career, Long has served in five of the six Bowl Championship Series leagues.
Prior to Arkansas, Long redefined Pitt athletics, most notably through the "Quest for Excellence" campaign. Designed to enhance the student-athlete experience for Panther athletes through scholarship endowments and capital gifts for facility construction and renovation, the Quest resulted in almost $34 million in just over two and a half years. In 2005, Long dedicated a new Olympic sports weight room at Fitzgerald Field House as well as training facilities for gymnastics and wrestling. When he departed Pittsburgh, Long had plans for new competition venues for baseball, softball, soccer and track and field, plus enhancements for the Pitt Band.
His commitment to building the Pitt athletics brand resulted in a new primary mark for the Panthers which returned the powerful "PITT" brand to the University of Pittsburgh. He established a partnership with adidas for uniforms and apparel for all 19 Pitt teams and an agreement with ISP Sports, one of the nation's leading college sports marketing firms, to elevate Pitt's profile from a local to national level. Through Long's leadership the department worked with its partners to begin a weekly television program, "Panthers Weekly," which highlighted all 19 sports on FSN Pittsburgh, a monthly magazine publication, "Panther Eyes," and raised the profile of radio broadcasts with Clear Channel for football, basketball, hockey, women's basketball and other programs.
Long's direction of the Panther program resulted not only in the mandatory recertification by the NCAA of Pitt athletics in 2005, but the citation of the University of Pittsburgh by the peer review team that he led a program that was a "model for others to follow." Among the student-athlete changes initiated by Long was the formulation of a new position for career and life skills coordinator, developed in concert with the University of Pittsburgh's Provost.
Long's four-year tenure added up to Pittsburgh becoming one of the nation's top programs, notably the Panthers' selection as the No. 17 overall program in the nation in the December 2006 Sports Illustrated on Campus' All-Sport Rankings.
As an athletic leader, Long was a key advocate for the Big East during the league's time of membership transition. Thanks in large part to Long's voice of leadership, the Big East maintained its position as a key member of the Bowl Championship System, and the Pitt Panthers earned the Big East's automatic berth in 2004 at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Along with his tenure on the Executive Council, Long also served on the NCAA's Sports Wagering Task Force in 2004, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association.
Before arriving at Pitt, Long was senior associate athletic director at Oklahoma for two and a half years. Managing the external affairs of the Sooners, he was an innovator in his direction of the key image areas of marketing and promotions, licensing, media relations, ticketing, radio and television rights and SoonerVision productions. In addition, Long was the primary administrator for the Sooners' highly successful football and men's basketball programs, along with sport supervision of baseball, wrestling and both golf teams.
Long's first appointment as a director of athletics was at Eastern Kentucky where he served for two and a half years. He made several revisions to the EKU athletic infrastructure and completed several facility projects. Long created the first modern corporate partner and sponsorship structure at EKU. Prior to Eastern, Long had a brief stay with Virginia Tech as an associate athletics director.
He began his lengthy career in college athletic administration at the University of Michigan, hired by legendary coach and athletics director, the late Bo Schembechler. During his seasons with the Wolverines, Long was promoted through a series of posts to the position of associate athletics director.
A former two-sport athlete at Ohio Wesleyan, Long earned seven varsity letters for the Bishops in football and baseball before completing his degree in economics in 1982. He started his post graduate career in athletics as a graduate assistant football coach at the cradle of coaches, Miami of Ohio. Long earned his master's in education at Miami in 1983, moving on to football staff positions at Rice, Duke and NC State prior to joining Michigan.
An Ohio native from Kettering, Long is married to the former Fanny Gellrich of Ann Arbor, Mich. The Longs have two daughters, Stephanie and Christina.
