By Chris Macaluso
LSUsports.net
Dan Radakovich has had the unique opportunity to experience college athletics at universities big and small and from coast to coast for the past 25 years.
Now, Radakovich is back at a large university and somewhere in the middle geographically after accepting the position as the senior associate athletic director at LSU.
“I am very excited about this opportunity to return to a big college,” Radakovich said. ” I love the feel you get at a big university with a big time football program and a group of fans that supports all of the athletic programs. You really get a sense of athletic tradition at a big school.”
Prior to taking the LSU job in late May, Radakovich spent one year as the director of athletics at American University in Washington, D.C.
Before taking that job, he spent six years handling much of the multi-million dollar athletics budget at the University of South Carolina as the associate athletic director for the Gamecocks.
He played football while earning his undergraduate degree at the small, but well-respected, Indiana University of Pennsylvania from 1976-80 before moving south to the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., to work on a master’s in business administration in 1982.
Immediately after earning his MBA, Radakovich took a job in the Miami athletic department as the athletics business manager from 1982-85. From there he moved into the private sector for five years before returning to athletics at Long Beach State University.
His experience working in the Southeastern Conference with South Carolina contributed heavily to his decision to become the right-hand man for new LSU athletic director Skip Bertman.
“I loved being a part of a big university like South Carolina and getting the feel for athletics on such a large scale,” he said. “I’ve been all over the country and it’s just not the same. SEC football is unique.”
According to Radakovich, one cannot understand just how unique SEC football is and the passion it’s fans show until he leaves.
The best example, he said, was the situation he was presented with while working in California from 1989-94 as the senior associate athletic director at Long Beach State.
Long Beach State had long been known for its excellent baseball and volleyball teams. But, as is the case with many other West Coast schools, football was a relative unknown.
“You have to understand that Long Beach is almost as big if not bigger than many schools in the SEC,” Radakovich said. “But the passion was just not there for the sport. Because there are so many other schools out there and because there are so many other ways for people to find entertainment, fans just do not show up in large numbers to support college football throughout the West Coast.”
Long Beach State’s football team played well and drew plenty of fans in 1989, the year after the 49ers hired the legendary George Allen as their head coach. But, Allen died after just one season and the program plummeted. Just one year later, Long Beach State eliminated its football program.
“That was a tough decision to make and we knew a lot of people were going to be upset and even out of work,” he said. “But it was a decision we had to make. Football was draining our funds and we had too many other successful programs that needed our attention.”
As a result of eliminating football, Long Beach State was able to build a consistent winner out of its men’s basketball team while maintaining the superior level of performance of its baseball and softball teams.
Radakovich said he doesn’t expect LSU to face any of the same problems that lead to the elimination of Long Beach’s football program. Nonetheless, he does expect to have to make tough decisions regarding finances and facilities on a daily basis.
“That’s what Skip (Bertman) wants,” Radakovich said. “We all know that we are going to have to make some tough choices in the future. But as long as we make them and justify them and stand by our choices, we will be okay and hopefully respected.”
Radakovich said some of those “tough choices” are pending and some of them are in the future. For now, he’s just ready to settle in to his new surroundings, make sure his two children get settled into their new schools and watch a little football in Tiger Stadium.
“I can’t wait for the first game,” he said. “I’ve heard stories about what a great atmosphere it is here on a Saturday night. Hopefully they’re all true. Hopefully we’ll come out on top.”