Page 26 - Laker Connection Fall 2012

DREAMS. MADE REAL.
Athletic Director Carl McAloose
A New Era, With the Same Expectations
Anew era for one of the most successful athletic pro- grams in NCAA Division II began on Monday, June 4... the first day on the job for Clayton State Uni- versity’s second Director of Athletics, Carl McAloose. While it’s a new era, McAloose expects it to be more of the same for the Laker athletic teams.
“I’m excited to be on campus,” he said upon starting his new position. “We have a great opportunity to do something special and take our athletic program beyond even what it is already. I’m looking forward to building our program both ath- letically and academically. There’s no question we can do both, because athletics and academics mesh at Clayton State.
“I would like to thank Dr. Tim Hynes for the great op- portunity he has given me. Mason Barfield did a great job as- sembling a fantastic group of coaches, and I hope to continue to build upon his dream. And, I’d also like to thank all of Clay- ton State’s student-athletes for all of their efforts.”
McAloose sees great potential for what is already one of the top Division II programs in the nation. In fact, he un- equivocally states that, “just about all our sports have the po- tential to be top 10 national teams.”
When asked about his goals for Clayton State athletics in the coming year, he is equally upbeat, speaking about both the playing field and the classroom.
“The goal is for those teams to compete for national championships, all the while creating an environment that is friendly academically for our student-athletes, and for them to graduate,” he says. “Mason has done an outstanding job. Hopefully, we can grow on his vision. Hopefully we can bring accolades to the university similar to what our women’s bas- ketball team did in 2011.”
The parameters for building on the success of Barfield’s athletic program are already in place, McAloose adds.
“With the outstanding location and the beauty of our campus, the quality of our coaches, and our outstanding lead- ership team, we think we can attract some of the top quality student athletes in the country; and thus we have the opportu- nity to continue to compete on a national level,” he says.
McAloose most recently served as president and CEO of Athletics Staffing & Consulting, a consulting company that
supports college and university athletic programs with feasi- bility studies, strategic planning, compliance reviews, NCAA membership initiatives and conference realignment proposals.
Prior to his role with
Athletics Staffing & Con-
sulting, he served as the
ultra-successful director of
athletics at Florida Gulf
Coast University (FGCU) in
Fort Myers, Fla., from 2000
to 2008. As Barfield did at
Clayton State, McAloose
built the FGCU program
from scratch, overseeing a
program with 14 sports and
an annual operating budget
of $8 million, and taking the program to NCAA Division I sta- tus in record time. He also oversaw the construction of the University’s $30 million athletic complex, which included multiple facilities; and helping secure a $5 million gift, the largest cash contribution in the school’s 10-year history, for the construction of the school’s $20 million Alico Arena.
Along with his experience as an athletic director, McAloose also brings a wealth of experience in athletic con- ference administration. He served as the commissioner of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference from 1996 to 2000 after serving as the associate commissioner in the Big South Conference from 1992 to 1996. He also served in asso- ciate athletic director roles at both Coastal Carolina University and at West Chester State (Pa.) University.
He earned a master’s degree in education with a con- centration in physical education and athletic administration from Frostburg State University in 1988. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from McDaniel College.
McAloose has three children: Krista, 19; Savannah, 16; and Hunter, 14. Krista McAloose is just starting her college career this year at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Co.
__ John Shiffert
24 THE LAKER CONNECTION
FALL 2012 24