Cegles Right Man for the Job
by Doug Krikorian, Long Beach Press-Telegram
April 12, 2006 Finally, the Great Long Beach State Athletic Search, which spanned the World Series, Thanksgiving, the Holiday season, the football season, the Winter Olympics and the Academy Awards, which resulted in dozens of candidates from around America being considered, which inspired high drama, low comedy and an awful lot of ridicule, has come to a blessed climax.
Finally, a person has been located to succeed the long-departed but certainly not forgotten Bill Shumard, who lammed it out of town in the middle of last summer just ahead of the posse that had been nipping relentlessly at his Florsheims for years.
Finally, Dr. F. King Alexander, the Long Beach State president, can concentrate his considerable energies on stocking his school with new deans and vice presidents rather than worrying so much about 49er athletics.
Indeed, to hear King Alexander describe Victor Cegles, you'd get the distinct impression that Long Beach State has just secured the services of a fellow who combines the best qualities of Abraham Lincoln, Vince Lombardi and Warren Buffett.
"Vic is the best fit for our needs at the university," said Alexander. "He has tremendous experience and a solid managerial foundation. I think he has the ability and the experience to build upon the very solid foundation we already have in place in our athletic department. He also is a tremendous fund-raiser.
"I think Vic is going to turn out to be a galvanizing force in linking the success of our athletic programs more closely with the community and our alumni base. He comes highly regarded and recommended by the best in the business."
King Alexander revealed he's been receiving a lot of e-mails from well-known athletic administrators on the virtues of Victor Cegles, who was a runner-up last June in the Eastern Kentucky University AD sweepstakes one Mark Sandy got the job but finished on top this time ahead of Alabama-Birmingham's William Moon and Washington's Kenneth Winstead.
"The Notre Dame AD, Kevin White, had nothing but terrific things to say about Vic," said Alexander. "They worked together at Arizona State. And Andy Geiger, the former AD at Stanford and Ohio State, raved about Vic. You hear from people of this caliber, and you know you're fortunate to get such a person."
So who's Vic Cegles, and what's he all about?
Well, I found out firsthand Wednesday morning that he has media savvy, as he promptly returned my phone call, even though, obviously, he was busy alerting his cohorts at Temple of his new position in Long Beach.
He's 57, has two sons in college one plays baseball at Rutgers and the other is a redshirt freshman football player at Towson grew up in Niagara Falls, and is of Lithuanian descent.
He has a cousin in Redondo Beach, and is familiar with Southern California, having visited the cousin on several occasions and also having come here many times with Arizona State athletic teams during his affiliation with that school.
He speaks in a forceful voice, and affects an aura of self-confidence that I'm sure made a positive impression during his interviews with Alexander and Dr. Doug Robinson's search committee.
He says he was drawn to Long Beach State for a reason that will make him an instant hit with those long disenchanted 49er boosters.
"I looked at it as a place where you can win championships," he said. "Why not? The volleyball teams have in the past. The baseball team has been right there, and I'm sure the softball team could be a threat. You're in a warm weather place and have a great university."
Cegles even went on to mention that the men's and women's basketball teams had the potential to make a greater impact, although I don't think I heard him bring up national championships when discussing them.
He doesn't plan to come in and immediately institute widespread changes.
"For the first six months, my goal is to meet as many people on the campus and in the community as I can," he said. "I realize it's hard for people who already are working in the athletic department when a new AD comes in because I've been on the other side. I just know that people who work hard and are loyal to the university will have nothing to be concerned about."
Cegles played baseball and basketball when he attended Bucknell, and says another factor in his being intrigued by the Long Beach AD job was King Alexander.
"I like King's energy and the perspective he has on sports," he said. "He understands how important athletics are in college, but also understands how important other things are for the athletes."
King Alexander has similarly nice words to say about Vic Cegles.
"What you hear from everybody about Vic and you love hearing it is that he has a great degree of integrity and honesty," said Alexander. "We had a great one-on-one meeting the first time we actually sat down with each other. Vic was the only candidate who frequently referenced the relationship of intercollegiate athletes with the rest of the university. He talked about how student-athletes benefited from improvements in the library and computer labs and student center and other places on the campus."
I have no idea how Vic Cegles will do at his new station, but if you go by what Kevin White said in his e-mail to Alexander, Cegles figures to do quite well.
"Vic is both extremely talented and inordinately passionate," wrote White. "In my humble view, he would bring an established 'skill set' that could serve your interests exceedingly well.
"I have been terribly fortunate in my career to have been surrounded by a large number of sitting athletic directors (Cal-Berkeley, Fresno State, Baylor, Washington State, Hawaii, Georgetown, Tulsa, Northern Illinois, Ball State, etc.); very honestly, I would place Vic at the very top of the list in terms of (earnest) capability."
Not a bad recommendation from the boss of Notre Dame athletics. |
