Southeast Missouri State AD finalist Coonan talks of his passion for student athletes

Dan Coonan's passion for college athletics involves more than wins and losses.

"I love working in this field," said Coonan, a finalist for the position of athletic director at Southeast Missouri State University.

"I love the impact on students," Coonan told a public forum of about 40 athletic boosters and university staff Thursday afternoon at the University Center.

"You are around these bright, young students. Their futures are so bright they don't even realize it. There is something about that; that is really compelling to me." Coonan was the last of three finalists to visit the Southeast campus this week to meet with the search committee, school officials and athletics staff.

The university plans to have a new director of athletics in place by July 1.

Coonan currently serves as executive director of development for the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California, the largest archdiocese in the nation with 265 parishes and 5 million parishioners.

But Coonan said most of his professional life has been spent in oversight of athletic programs in higher education, including three years as executive associate athletic director at the University of California at Berkeley, and 11 years as director of athletics and recreation at Santa Clara University in California.

He comes from a long line of educators.

"My grandfather taught at the Naval Academy," Coonan said. "My other grandfather was a high school principal. My mom was a grade school teacher, My dad, when he retired from his job, became a teacher."

Coonan graduated from law school and worked for seven years as an attorney before leaving to run a congressional campaign. His candidate lost and he subsequently embarked on a career in administration of college athletics.

At the University of California, he helped hire a new coach, who turned around the football program. "I had a real role in reshaping the profile of Cal football," he said.

At Santa Clara University, Coonan oversaw a successful sports program.

"We had great success with little resources," he said. "Five of our sports finished at least once in the top 15 in the country."

Coonan, who met with Southeast athletic department staff and coaches before the public forum, said that he has "no illusions about the budget situation" at Southeast, "but every school in the country is concerned about its budget."

He added, "As I told the coaches, you don't let that define you."

Coonan stressed his fundraising ability. In his current position, he helped raise $18 million for the archdiocese in 2015. "I am not afraid to ask for money. It is what I have been doing full time. I have had success at that."

Fundraising is "crucial in this job" as athletic director, he told the audience.

At Santa Clara, the athletic department established a quarterly magazine to promote the school's athletics and the successes of its students, both on the field and in the classroom. He said the magazine was largely produced by students and "ended up being a great thing." It aided in fundraising, he said.

"I've got some P.T. Barnum in me," he said of his promotional efforts as an athletic director.

As athletic director, he helped set up a leadership program for the school's student athletes.

"It is the type of thing you should be doing if athletics is going to be tied to education," Coonan said.

In answer to a question, Coonan said at Santa Clara University the athletic department educated its athletes about alcohol abuse and sexual assaults. "We really tried to do a good job of connecting with students," he added.

Coonan was asked what he would do to encourage more students to attend sporting events at Southeast.

He responded by talking about steps taken to boost student attendance at Santa Clara.

"When I got to Santa Clara, my first question was where do the students sit?" he said. The reply was that the students were seated behind the baskets in the arena.

Coonan said he moved student seating to an area previously reserved for season-ticket holders and corporate sponsors. "These are the best seats in the house," Coonan said. "I just felt really passionate about that. I knew how much student activity and student excitement would drive this."

He recalled one basketball game against Gonzaga which drew 1,700 students. "It was unbelievable," he said. "It is exactly the atmosphere you want."

Coonan said the university also established a student spirit group. Membership cost $75. "We used all that money to fuel student spirit and excitement," he said.

Students received special T-shirts several times a year and were treated to pizza and pregame parties and provided bus transportation to away games.

Coonan said the athletic department also sent a weekly email to students, telling them about upcoming sporting events on campus. Later, the email communication was expanded to include staff, donors and alumni.

He said Southeast would be a good fit for his family.

Coonan grew up in Los Angeles, but his wife is from Missouri. His wife's family lives in St. Louis, and he also has relatives who graduated from Southeast.

Those family ties as well as the professional opportunity attracted him to the job at Southeast, he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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