Meeting with Director of Athletics Robert Bowlsby

On November 4, 2009 I met with Director of Athletics Robert Bowlsby. Director Bowlsby oversees approximately 850 student athletes. He is removed from the day to day activities of the Athletics Department and is a generalist. He reports to the Provost and is responsible for raising money and for a budget of $75M of which $20M comes from endowments and the rest is generated. Director Bowlsby solicits gifts, works with friends and alumni, and has nine direct reports including external affairs, website, ticket office, service elements, and sports reporting.

There is no typical day for Director Bowlsby. His days vary from working on finances, student disciplinary issues, speaking off-campus, to meeting with the University President and trustees. Director Bowlsby travels a lot and spends on average 100 nights a year off campus. He also sits on the Alumni Association Board of Director.

In the past each sports program would raise their own money and they heavily competed with each other. They also overspent their budget which resulted in a large deficit. Today the fundraising is centralized in the Buck/Cardinal Club which was created five years ago and is analogous to The Stanford Fund.