UC Davis hires new athletic director

After a months-long process, UC Davis has finally announced the hiring of a new athletic director: Terrance Tumey, who has been the director of athletics at Dominican University in San Rafael since 2009.

Tumey will be officially introduced at a campus event Tuesday and is expected to begin work on Aug. 1.

More than a year ago, the athletic director position at UCD became available when Greg Warzecka retired in June 2011 after serving in the position for 16 years.

UCD Chancellor Linda Katahi put together an advisory committee in October to determine the criteria for hiring his replacement. Between four town halls, an Academic Senate paper and numerous emails and phone calls, the key components for a successful athletic director were narrowed down to maintaining academic integrity, generating outside revenue and embracing the “Aggie Way.”

Tumey — one of four finalists — ticked off each requirement and more and was appointed to the position Thursday by Katehi, according to a UCD news release.

“I am honored and humbled to serve the UC Davis community and become part of its rich athletics legacy,” Tumey said in the release.

UCD softball head coach Karen Yoder was pleased by the chancellor’s choice.

“It was heavily anticipated and I think we had an amazing group of candidates, and I’m excited for the selection,” Yoder said. “I think he’ll bring enthusiasm to the position.”

The newest member of the Aggie family will earn a base salary of $210,000 in his first year, which will increase to $230,000 by the fifth year, according to a compensation summary released by UCD. Additionally, Tumey will be eligible for up to $46,600 in incentives based on achieving the following goals:

* Winning the Big Sky Conference championship football title: $6,600

* Qualifying for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament: $10,000

* Qualifying for the NCAA women’s basketball tournament: $10,000

* Qualifying for the College World Series: $10,000

* Awarded Big West Commissioner’s Cup: $10,000

During Tumey’s tenure at Dominican University, the Penguins won Pacific West Conference honors for highest student academic achievement (2010-11) and community engagement (2010).

“I sat in the interview with all the coaches and public, and the thing that clearly stood out was his energy and excitement for UC Davis and the job,” said Jim Les, UCD men’s basketball head coach. “He was very impressive. I know all the coaches came away very impressed with the way he engaged the audience.

“As you dig deeper, you can see he has a depth of experience,” Les added. “He’s been a student athlete (at UCLA), a Division I coach (at UCLA), at the highest level with the 49ers’ and Broncos’ administration and an athletic director. That combination of experience will be invaluable.”

Yoder agreed as to how Tumey stood out during the meeting: “I think it was his passion for collegiate athletics, his passion for UC Davis, and his strong work ethic. It’s very contagious.”

Tumey beat out a final-four pool that included Foti Thomas Mellis, former Aggie and University of California senior associate athletic director; Ray Purper, deputy director of athletics at Stanford University and Desiree Reed-Francois, senior associate athletic director at the University of Tennessee.

“In Terry Tumey, we’ve found the perfect person to take UC Davis athletics forward,” Katehi said in the news release. “In addition of over a decade of experience in athletics administration in the college and professional ranks, Terry brings acumen in financial planning and analysis — critical skills in these economic times — and personal experience as a successful student-athlete at UCLA.”

Tumey earned a bachelor’s degree in 1988 and followed with a master’s in business administration from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business in 1993. He also was the Bruins’ defensive line coach from 1995-99.

During the search, life proceeded as normal at UCD for its coaches and athletes. So after nearly a year of waiting, is it nice to finally have a name to put on the AD’s door?

“It’s nice to know we have the right guy,” Les said. “Regardless of the time table, we were more concerned with getting the right guy.”

Note: Tumey’s salary is nowhere near the top end among athletic directors, according to a 2011 USAToday.com report. UCLA’s AD Dan Guerrero leads the Pacific-12 Conference with $688,296, while Colorado’s Mike Bohn brought home $250,000 (with a possible $100,000 bonus). The top dog is Vanderbilt’s David Williams at $2,560,505.