Freeman: 'need to do a lot with a little ...' and other observations

I finally had a chance to meet Lafayette’s new director of athletics, Sherryta Freeman, at the Maroon & White football game last month. We had about 12 minutes together during halftime of the game. I’d have liked more time, but she was having a busy day.

When The Morning Call agreed to use our interview as its Newsmaker Q&A feature in Sunday’s paper, I knew there was no way everything we talked about would be covered because of space constraints. So, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to share some of my thoughts on what was in print and to add to that to give Leopards’ sports fans – a passionate bunch – more to think about.

I was really interested in getting a handle on the results of the long-awaited study of the entire athletics program, which started in the fall of 2016 and had an original target date of April of 2017. That date came and went, and before anything was made public, the athletic director under whose watch it all began, Bruce McCutcheon, announced his retirement.

I was told that none of the candidates for McCutcheon’s successor was given access to the study’s findings at that point, so it wasn’t surprising when things kind of went into hibernation, giving the new department leader time to digest it.

Freeman told me she’s aiming for “the end of the summer” as the time when a new “strategic plan” will begin implementation over a period of five years. “The (old) study just gives us information; it doesn’t give us direction,” she told me. “It doesn’t tell us what we need to do. That’s what my job is,” she said.

That’s not exactly what some Lafayette alumni – and probably coaches and student-athletes as well — might want to hear. The 2016 study – or review or whatever you want to call it -- had as its main objective making Lafayette sports teams more competitive in the Patriot League.

Having to take five more years of baby steps probably is not going to entice a guy like Jack Bourger, for example, to immediately re-think his decision regarding his giving to Friends of Lafayette Football. He has suspended that for the 2017-18 fiscal year and that can’t be a good thing for the program, especially if others have followed his lead.

Freeman also told me, “… we need to do a lot with a little. … We need to figure out ways to become more efficient and ways to improve upon the resources we have and increase our revenue …before we can start to make some of the positive changes we need to make.” No mention of the college accepting its responsibility to fully fund the scholarships to the Patriot League level and letting the money from the friends groups be funneled to other things that would enhance their respective programs.

While answering a question about mending fences with some troubled alumni, she said she’ll talk with anyone, and she did conduct “sports caravans” to meet with alums in Allentown, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. Only one of the regular posters on the Lafayette Sports Fan Forum went on record as having been there. SixtyEighter was impressed by Freeman and wrote that “To me she seems like she is really focused and knows exactly what to do.”

Knowing what to do is pretty obvious; being able to do it may be much more difficult judging from past attempts and if Freeman’s hands are tied by having to “do a lot with a little.”  I remember when the department study began, college president Alyson Byerly said something about not expecting more money for athletics. Freeman will have some work to do, for sure, if she is convinced that an increased budget should be a major component of the strategic plan. That sounds like a hard sell.

You can find the complete Newsmaker Q&A on The Morning Call’s website: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-newsmaker-sherryta-freeman-20180430-story.html.

Here are other questi0ns that didn’t make the cut.

HAVE YOU MADE A LOT OF FRIENDS IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT CAN HELP MAKE CHANGES?

Freeman: “Everyone at the college has been extremely supportive. You talk about have I made friends, yes. The goal is to have good, engaging conversations to understand how we can work together to make athletics better. It’s not just asking for things on campus, but how can athletics be an asset to what’s going on in their department? How can we work together and engage more? One of my five pillars is campus integration, being able to have our student-athletes as well as our staff to be involved on campus, to be interested and engaged in the community so it’s not just athletics over here and the academic areas over there but that we’re working together to be able to support the future of Lafayette athletics.”

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST INTERESTNG THING YOU’VE LEARNED SINCE COMING TO LAFAYETTE?

Freeman: “I think everything I’m gathering is interesting, just in terms of understanding what our student-athletes are passionate about with campus life, with College Hill … everything is interesting to me, and new, so I’m getting hit with a lot of different pieces of information. My job is interesting; the people I’m meeting are interesting. Nothing so surprising that I’m like, oh, my gosh, I didn’t know that. But things where I’ve said, that’s good information to have as we build our plan going forward.”

IS IT THE COLLEGE YOU THOUGHT IT WAS WHEN YOU APPLIED FOR THE JOB?

Freeman: “Yes, everything and more. There are so many great things happening here on campus and I think what I found is that alumni and parents and community members absolutely love this institution and that is something we are going to be able to capitalize on going forward. We don’t have a want or need for people to get excited about Lafayette; they already are. People who absolutely love this place and events. Been able to meet alumni and they’re just so committed to this school.

DOES THE FOOTBALL PROGRAM HAVE THE MOST IMMEDIATE NEEDS? Freeman: “I’m excited for the future of our football program. [Head coach] John [Garrett] is a great leader. He has a lot of energy and enthusiasm. He has a lot of acronyms, and I have my ‘E’s’ – energy and enthusiasm – that I say all the time. To have people on our staff who have that same level of energy and enthusiasm that I do is good to see, and he definitely gets his student-athletes ready to go and they are engaged on campus and in the community. A perfect example for what we want to see for athletics. Our basketball programs and others are going to rise with the tide. Anything we can do to improve the entire athletics program is something that’s going to benefit everyone including some of our major sports that do receives lots of attention. “

MIGHT WE SEE MORE OF PENN ON THE SCHEDULE?

Freeman: “I have tons of ideas from my experience in Ivy League and Patriot League and Ivy League are very similar so hopefully some of those success stories where I was able “to help my previous institution will help and my experience with Temple as well in terms of understanding that level and being about to embrace those things.”

WILL THE TIME EVER COME THAT YOU REPORT DIRECTLY TO PRESIDENT?

Freeman: “I report to [vice president for Campus Life] Annette Diorio and it’s great. Annette definitely has a pulse on what we’re doing, and she is someone I can share ideas and direction with. But I also have conversations with [Lafayette president] Alyson Byerly as well. Between Annette and Alyson, I am well supported from the college.”

HOW MANY DIVISON I ATHLETICS PROGRAMS HAVE LAFAYETTE’S REPORT STRUCTURE?

Freeman: “I have the opportunity to meet with the president on a monthly basis, which I think is more significant that a lot of Division I institutions I’m aware of. And having Annette, in her role of vice president, be my direct supervisor is the norm for Division I athletics. I know there are some [other athletics directors] who do report directly to the president, and I’m sure it works for them. So, from the structure of our institution and what we’re trying to do, we have the right structure and the right alignment there -- and the right amount of support from the leadership of the college. I’m quite happy with how things have been so far.”

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE FALL FROM THIS FOOTBALL PROGRAM?

Freeman: “Oh, man, I want to see some victories, but more than anything I want them to play hard, stay healthy, which in football is hard to do, but see passion, energy and enthusiasm. And, you want them to feel supported. I’m excited to see this team; they work really hard; the coaches work hard and that’s important.to feel the respect of any program.”

THE BOTTOM LINE: I found Freeman to be knowledgeable, articulate and charismatic, with all the right talking points. She can do a lot for her career if she is able to achieve some of her lofty goals. Patience. Patience. Patience. Do Leopard fans have it? Does Freeman have it?