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Cegles Man of His Word
by Bob Keisser, Long Beach Press-Telegram
May 30, 2007
One might say the honeymoon is over for Vic Cegles, but the truth is
the Long Beach State Athletic Director never really had one.
In his first year as the 49ers' new man in charge, he's had to deal with
a variety of issues that doesn't remind one of sitting on a beach in Maui
or watching the sunset off Negril. It's been more like cliff-diving into
a wading pool.
He got the job after the first attempt at an A.D. search went about as
well as Larry Reynolds' first season as basketball coach.
He inherited a staff that had been rudderless for a few years, had lost
its energy, and was more than a bit fearful of what the new guy would
do. There's nothing like working with people who keep their resume handy
on a flash drive.
He looked at the budget and noticed than the baseball program makes more
money than men's basketball and fund-raising had hit a wall.
There were reports of forthcoming state budget cuts, and tuition increases,
and a housing shortage. People don't usually take jobs in which down-sizing
is advertised.
He had to make a decision on hiring a new basketball coach, against a
backdrop of the old coach getting his team to the NCAA tournament. He
fired him, and then got roasted by people who haven't been to a 49er game
since Tex Winter was coach.
Then he had to deal with a NCAA probe into said basketball program, and
there are few joys in life like the NCAA Cops dropping by for donuts and
an inquisition.
Then he had to hire a new coach and discovered the process had a few more
zig-zags than a marijuana farm in Humboldt.
Now a year is up, and Cegles, who repeated his "I need a year to
evaluate things" more often than a Nichiren Buddhist doing his nam-myoho-renge-kyo
thing, has a better feeling for his job.
And it's a good feeling.
"I said when I was hired that we had a great community, but it's
even more true now that I've been here," he said. "People love
Long Beach and they're connected to it and to the university.
"I knew we had good coaches, but the caliber is higher than I expected.
They're talented, dedicated and loyal to the university. You can be the
greatest athletic director in the world and if you don't have good coaches,
you're not going to be successful."
The most important aspect of Cegles learning about Long Beach State may
be what everyone has learned about Cegles.
He works hard and expects the people working for him to do likewise. He's
been an associate athletic director and knows what qualifies as a good
one. There are six current Division I-A A.D.'s that once were all assistant
or associate A.D.'s at Arizona State at the same time, Cegles included.
He's not one to gush about people, nor is he petty.
He has high standards. Now there's a change. It wasn't very long ago that
the 49ers' stated goal was to be competitive in the Big West. Cegles isn't
one to flinch, but one can tell settling for "being competitive"
raises his blood pressure.
"I just want people who are dedicated to this community," he
said, meaning the city and university, "and work hard and commit
to the student-athletes.
"The question I always ask is `how do we get better?' I want to implant
that in everyone's mind. There are things we need to get done that are
not going to get done overnight, but we can still work toward that goal.
"I think everyone understands me now and what I expect."
Even if his first year is almost up, the evaluation process never ends.
He has ideas about improving the marketing, fund raising and academic
services departments. That doesn't mean there will be personnel changes,
but there will be change.
He's also had a year to digest life in the Big West, which has always
been part of Long Beach's profile. He laments that the conference lost
so many schools that have a profile in men's basketball, and that there
seems to be a two-tiered attitude about sports among the current membership.
"Basketball stands out as something that we can make better,"
he said. "It has the potential to generate revenue for all of the
schools. Some schools invest more than others, which I think is wrong,
but you can't legislate how much someone wants to spend."
All he can do is expect his school to invest, and win.
"The best way to evaluate how we're doing is to win and dominate
the conference," he said. "Can we? I think we can. We have things
that are positives - coaches, weight room, facilities.
"I've been to all (the Big West schools), and with what we have to
offer, there's no reason why we can't do what we once did in basketball."
As in win league titles.
"That's how Gonzaga did it. Santa Clara didn't spend money for your
guy Kerry Keating (the new Broncos basketball coach) because they wanted
to, but because they had to. Gonzaga elevated the bar. That's how you
do it. It's what we want to accomplish with (new 49er hoop coach) Dan
Monson."
Cegles obviously has a sense of humor, too, hinting that a columnist's
advice, position or perspective a coaching hire would ever be taken serious.
But mostly he's serious about improving things.
"We'll recruit good student-athletes, graduate kids, and win championships.
I'll never be embarrassed to say that. I think the expectation level is
much higher now than it was when I got here, and if we're successful,
the expectations will only get higher. "There's no reason why we
can't get there."
Cegles has embraced the "Life's A Beach" motto - as long as
one knows the beach is here and not in Maui, and one only gets tougher
the more they're willing to run in the sand.
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