Collected Wisdom - Bill Popp

Well let’s just say that it has consumed much of our daily work hours and easily spills over into all hours of the day as there are so many questions to answer. Information and data gathering have helped formulate protocols and procedures to help the institution operate as safely as possible. I think the data that our Institutional Research department presents at each of our Covid 19 team meetings has really helped us identify some mitigation strategies to allow for us to open back up in August. We say often on campus at Reinhardt that mitigation is not elimination therefore we need to be vigilant in our efforts to contain the spread. 

What an opportunity it was. I came to Reinhardt after spending 11 years as the Head Coach at a Division III school in Atlanta and also playing, coaching, and recruiting East Cobb Baseball for so many years. I think Reinhardt felt like I had the coaching knowledge and recruiting base they were looking for. The first goal was to build a team at the same time we were building a field. Unfortunately, the team came together quicker than the field and we had to borrow space our first year with about 70 total baseball players ready to go. We settled into a smaller group in the next few years and moved back to our on-campus site. The program has attracted 45-50 team members in each year of its existence. A personal highlight was stepping back into coaching in 2018 and helping guide the team to our first ever appearance at the NAIA World Series in Idaho. 

In 2012 former President Tom Isherwood called me in as we announced the addition of football. We had a conversation about workload and if this would be a good time to maybe take off at least one of the hats that we all wear at small private institutions. I felt I was ready to transition but mind you it was not an easy choice for a long-time baseball player and coach. It was a great transition and honestly, I think it allowed Reinhardt Athletics to change and grow. Reinhardt Athletics now had someone dedicated to taking on the challenges and presenting Reinhardt Administration with growth strategies and needs of the department. It also allowed me to become a part of all our teams and really get to know our students even better. I was able to show up at practices and competitions and be an administrator and a fan. 

It allows me to look at things from a coach’s perspective when making department decisions. I think the coaching staff appreciates that I have been in their shoes and allows them to trust that I will make decisions based on experience in coaching and administration. My last President used a baseball hat with two bills on it to get her point across that you must be able to be fluid and switch the way you’re thinking as an athletics administrator. One side of the hat is for making athletic or sport decisions good for the team or the students; when you turn the hat around you must be able to make decisions based on what is best for the institution. This I think is a challenge that many of us underestimate when stepping into athletic administrative positions.   

I think there were ten sports when I took over in 2003-04. Athletics was asked to look for growth initiatives so as soon as I finished building a baseball team, we launched into studies of what sports might be feasible for us to start that were thriving in our area. Mainly, I have looked for opportunities that are supported by high school athletics or strong local club sports which assures at least the beginning of a recruiting base locally. Some great examples of these studies were understanding how quickly men’s and women’s Lacrosse was exploding across North Georgia. There were very few small college lacrosse teams in the south which allowed us a large pool of recruits with very little competition. The addition of football was easy because of the popularity of the sport in the south and again a growing, but still limited group of small colleges sponsoring the sport. Last, I felt like it was imperative to find organizations like Team Georgia USA Wrestling; they had a grant available for new collegiate programs as well as donors who have passion for the sport. Both of which can help offset startup costs and really allows the institution to begin earning tuition revenue almost immediately.    

We do have specific roster and scholarship average goals each year. We have recently begun a study dealing more with net tuition revenue and marginal revenue. We will be pivoting and planning some new strategies to operate even more efficiently and effectively in the future. I spend time each year talking about retention and new student enrollment with our coaching staff; I then use that information to set goals with the Vice President of Enrollment. This has proven to be an effective model and allows for common goals for the two departments, but also a great working relationship between the coaching staff and the admissions counselors. Tracking the progress towards our set goals took a giant leap forward when we went away from pushing paper scholarships around campus to using shared spreadsheets that can be looked at daily or even hourly by all of those that need the information. This eliminated lost paperwork and allowed for goals and averages to be seen immediately making our coaching staff even more effective in attaining their goals.      

There are quite a few challenges if you really get into the weeds. A big one is being able to stretch resources to find the best way to deliver a great experience to our students. I think balancing the success, also defining that success of your entire department to make sure everyone is being treated as equally as possible, is also a hurdle we jump every day. Last, and I think very important to all of us working in athletics is maintaining that healthy work/life balance.  

Being around like-minded people all pulling in the same direction to provide a great student experience. Watching and mentoring students who really love what they do get to participate in sports while having an opportunity to get a quality education and prepare for life after the cleats, balls, and sticks have been put away. Celebrating success, academic or athletic, with students is pure joy. 

It begins with my parents who allowed me to pursue my dreams of playing sports at all levels and making it a part of my life growing up. My dad was always the biggest fan, supportive ear, critical advisor, and travel partner until I was old enough to drive myself. He is missed daily but I know he celebrates with me all the time. Jack Berkshire, Athletic Director at Oglethorpe University, who gave me my first chance even though I had no experience and was about the same age as some of the seniors on the team, is someone who really impacted the way I looked at athletics and life in general. Jennifer, my wife, has endured the good and bad for a long time and has done it mostly with a smile on her face. She knows when I need to vent, and she knows when I need her support and advice and that has an immeasurable value to me. Countless others have helped pave the road I am on like Tom Isherwood, Kina Mallard, and Mark Roberts all Presidents at Reinhardt. Good friends and colleagues over the years like Jim Owen, Jeffrey Pourchier, the staff at Reinhardt, and all my NAIA friends who provide opportunities to learn thru fellowship and friendship.  

Really the biggest changes came with the growth of the department. Basically, when the school year begins, we are 24/7 with practices, events, game days, and meetings. Stepping away from coaching really changed my daily work allowing me to focus on overall department goals and achievements and allowing me to help mentor coaches and student-athletes to provide the best experiences and serve the vison and mission of Reinhardt University. 

This was an area that I really wanted to grow professionally in, but it was virtually impossible when I was serving dual roles for Reinhardt. After the transition away from coaching I was fortunate to be nominated to serve as the AAC representative to the NAC following Commissioner Sullivan, who was finishing his time serving on the committee in which interestingly enough he also was NAC chair. Joining the NAC opened some avenues to continue to serve on different committees and task force teams. I really do believe it is up to each one of us to decide if you can divide your time appropriately to serve, as it does add to the daily workload. One thing that is critical is having a supportive President that allows you to grow professionally and take on responsibilities that might be outside the scope of your job at your institution. For me serving on national committees has been some of the best professional growth I could have asked for in areas like meeting new people, being part of decision-making teams, and generally supporting your institution and conference in NAIA matters. I would suggest to any NAIA athletic director that has an interest to find a way to get involved and they could begin with something like the ADA mentorship program. 

This is a pretty delicate dance but as I mentioned it begins with a supportive President and a great support staff in the athletic department. Without both of those in place I don’t think I could manage the time needed to serve the NAIA. I also appreciate that the NAIA supports our service with liaisons to help balance some of the work being done at the national level. 

This is one of the toughest questions so far. I have a few so I will try to be brief. I have a great recollection of the Little Brown Jug game in 1976 at the Big House in Ann Arbor thru the eyes of a 10-year-old boy which as you can imagine left quite an impression. More recently I witnessed true joy watching a baseball team win an opening round in Bowling Green, KY to advance to its first ever NAIA World Series. Last, being a part of so many senior days/nights is such a sad and joyful occasion and reminds me of how lucky I am to get to do what I do.