On his first day as Georgia Tech athletic director, Mike Bobinski had already heard from the constituency. A season ticket holder had left a message for him.
“I think it was a welcome and a question at the same time,” said Bobinski, who left a message of his own and vowed to try again. “That’s O.K. I’m good. That comes with the territory.”
Monday, as construction equipment rumbled outside his office overlooking the corner of Techwood Drive and Bobby Dodd Way, the school’s eighth athletic director began his tenure. Unlike Dodd, John Heisman and Homer Rice — some of Bobinski’s esteemed predecessors — Bobinski intended to spend some of his first day on the job setting up his Twitter account.
“It’s on my list today,” Bobinski said.
The day included other typical first-day minutiae — getting his ID card, filling out benefits forms — but Bobinski also met with associate athletic director Ryan Bamford and later with football coach Paul Johnson regarding his assistant coach opening. He’ll likely soon receive a copy of the budget for the 2014 fiscal year.
“It felt good to kind of dig into it a little bit,” he said.
Bobinski was hired in January after 12 years as Xavier’s athletic director, but his official start date was delayed in part due to his role as the chairman of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball committee. Since his hire was announced, senior associate athletic director Paul Griffin had kept him updated weekly on Tech matters.
Bobinski will conclude his chairmanship with the Final Four at the Georgia Dome. Though he officially relinquished his spot on the committee, he’ll attend to chair duties this week and watch the games at the Dome from the scorer’s table.
“Since I was the one that did all the publicity stuff after Selection Sunday (often getting questioned and criticized for the committee’s decisions), I get a little bit of the benefit of it,” he said.
The Final Four field includes three of the 10 or 12 teams — Louisville, Michigan and Syracuse — that he thought had a legitimate chance to make it to Atlanta. He wasn’t counting on Wichita State, the first No. 9 seed to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Bobinski described Wichita State as talented and deep and “that when you add sort of that real desire to prove something and do something, you can have those incredible, special moments. They’re clearly having one.”
In the near term, Bobinski will meet with staff, coaches, alumni and others to evaluate the department and assess strengths and weaknesses. He also has begun reading up on Tech’s history, including a book about football legend Clint Castleberry.
“I don’t profess to come in here and say, ‘Athletics begins today,’” Bobinski said. “It’s been going on for a long time. I fully recognize that and I appreciate all the great things that have happened here over the years.”
Bobinski doesn’t plan on making sweeping decisions soon, though he’ll have to hire a replacement for Griffin, who will retire this summer. Bobinski tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to stay on full time, but hopes he can continue in a lesser role.
Tech’s athletic department will chart a new course led by a former Disney employee with an approachable manner.
“I didn’t want to come with any preconceived thoughts about, this needs to change or that needs to stay the same,” Bobinski said. “Let’s put it all on the table and see what makes sense as we go forward.”
