Collected Wisdom - Jeremy Capo

Collected Wisdom is a regular series featuring insights from small college athletic administrators. Our thanks this week to Jeremy Capo, Athletic Director at Iowa Western Community College, for sharing his expertise and insights.

How did you get started in college athletics?

When I started my graduate assistantship in Campus Recreation at FHSU, I knew my heart was in athletics so I walked down to the AD’s office and explained that I had a commitment to the Campus Recreation department, but I wanted to volunteer in any way possible to gain experience. I just wanted to help and be a part of it. During the day I would work in Campus Recreation and in the evenings and weekends, I would work games as an events assistant. I delivered pizza to the winning row and wheeled out props for half-time entertainment.

When I graduated, I accepted a job as the Director of Campus Recreation at Adams State University. Once again, knowing my heart and passion was in the athletic field, I went to the AD and explained my desire to work and gain experience in athletics and asked to volunteer. During the day, I ran the campus recreation department and facility and in the evenings and weekends, I volunteered at games. I hung signs, administered game day promotions, and swept floors. At the end of the first year, the compliance officer announced her retirement and, I took on the role as the compliance officer along with facility and event manager to get my foot in the door.

You’ve served in a number of roles including compliance, facilities, and development before taking the AD chair. How has your range of experience prepared you for the Athletic Director position?

The experience gained from each and every position has been immeasurable. Being involved in the grassroots of each operation has allowed me to have a better understanding of what the role of each position plays within the overall landscape of the department. The experience of filing waivers and eligibility, building facilities, hosting championship events and raising money allows me to have a unique perspective.

I’ve walked in those shoes and done those jobs. I’ve been able to be a part of the rewarding side as well as the difficult side. Now, as a Director of Athletics, I can effectively lead and manage all those areas with a better overall understanding of each area and how they function within the department.

At CSU-Pueblo you moved from a role in compliance to a role in external relations? How did this come about and what was your career strategy in making this move?

I enjoyed compliance and working with our coaches and student athletes but I believed, that if I wanted to become an AD that I would need to gain experience on the external side of the house. I needed to broaden my experience in order to become an AD and as I researched position announcements and looked at sitting AD’s across the country, I discovered that a very large percentage of those position announcements was searching for somebody that could raise money.

At the end of my fifth year as the Compliance Director, there was an opening in our department for a Development Director. I quickly went to my boss and told him I was his guy. I valued his honesty when he told me that it was a high pressure position. I explained that based on where I wanted to go in my career that regardless of the pressure, I not only wanted the challenge, but I also needed the challenge to grow professionally. The strategy in moving to the external side was to become uncomfortable and grow while discovering if I had what it took to raise money and ultimately become an AD.

What was the one thing you were least prepared to do when you became an Athletic Director? What was your biggest strength heading into that first day as AD at NMJC?

I recently completed the strength’s finder and my two top strengths’ were positivity and WOO. Prior to this, I’ve always believed that one of my greatest strengths was connecting with people. I truly love and enjoy engaging with people. This is a people business so heading into my first day at NMJC, I believed that as long as I listened, engaged and connected with the coaches, student athletes, campus, and community that I would be able to thrive.

The thing that I was least prepared to do as the athletic director was to have those tough conversations. I’ve never lost a game, or won one for that matter, so to sit down with coaches and discuss the culture and direction of their programs, and be direct, was something that I had no experience doing. That was the toughest adjustment. I am a firm believer in leading people with open and honest communication and to immediately address issues and celebrate triumphs but there is no road map for having tough conversations.

What advice do you have for Assistant and Associate Athletic Directors who aspire to be an Athletic Director one day?

The way you do anything is the way you do everything! Stay true to who you are. You have to be yourself and hold strong to your values and non-negotiables.

Stay involved on campus and in the community, do more, be engaged, step outside of your comfort zone, and make an impact in whatever role you have. There is so much truth to the saying that every day is an interview. This is a people business so your relationships mean far more than your resume.

Athletics is its own community so your relationships will either harm you or help you. Whether you list somebody as a reference or not, it’s a small world and future employers will connect the dots and ask questions to make sure they are getting more than a qualified person. They want a great fit and an even greater individual.

At Iowa Western, you’ve created mission and vision statements that focus on creating the foundation for successful student-athletes. What did that process look like?

While I know it’s almost impossible, the goal is to have every single student athlete leave here with their golden-ticket (degree) so they can get to their next great adventure. We are a stepping stone. We realize that we are not the very first choice and that the student athletes that we bring here did not fall asleep every night waiting and praying for our coaches to offer them scholarships.

As far as developing our mission and vision, I wish I could say it was this great brainstorming session. The reality of it is we know that our role is to enhance our student athletes’ lives academically, athletically and personally. Based on the success they have here and how well we’ve enhanced their lives, they will get that scholarship to the institution they have prayed and dreamed about.

What are your largest priorities as the Athletic Director at Iowa Western?

We are unique here in that we only have one full-time administrator in our athletic department, yours truly. With 21 programs, soon to be 24 in the fall (Men’s & Women’s Bowling and Sport Shooting), finding that balance isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Because of that, I believe that the single greatest priority is our culture. There are so many moving parts, so our coaching staff is assigned other duties outside of their team responsibilities. The culture of our department has to be one of greatness, discipline, and accountability as we each rely on the other in so many different ways.

Outside of the culture, it’s been “friendraising”. We have such a great story to tell but haven’t been so great at engaging our community. The “friendraising” will lead to greater relationships and hopefully a raving fan base for our student athletes with the end goal of them seeing and believing in our mission and vision which can lead to them becoming donors.

What is your favorite part of your position?

Without question, the greatest part of my position is engaging with our student athletes and GAMEDAY! Knowing the stories of our student athletes and having the ability to engage with them makes this job so rewarding. The very best part is when they’ve left, and they reach out to you thanking you for your time, love and support. Those are the greatest days. I sincerely enjoy showing and assisting them in reaching their goals. That is the most important thing we do.

Secondly, I love watching our coaches and student athletes compete. Earlier I mentioned having never personally won or lost a game, but the reality of it is, that when you engage and invest, their losses are my losses and their triumphs and success are mine as well.

What is the biggest challenge you face in your role?

The biggest challenge is leading people. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. We all have different goals, needs and wants throughout the year. Whether we’re in our championship segment or in our off-season routines, we must always work to get better. The different seasons pull us in some many different direction and keeping it all together is the biggest challenge, but also the most rewarding. Identifying the strengths and weaknesses and then using our strengths to lead and grow as coaches and team members is the goal.

The other great challenge is to generate revenue, as we all know that funding for our programs cannot single handedly be strapped to the back of the institution. We want to generate revenue so that we can increase funding for our programs and ultimately the student athletes.

Who are some of your mentors/people who have encouraged you along your career path?

Wow, I have had some great mentors that helped me, and in some cases, pulled me along. I was kicked out of college as a sophomore and after working for the Department of Transportation on the side of the road for 10 months, I knew I needed to get back and finish.

The professors in the HHP Department at FHSU took me under their wing. Ron Haag, the Campus Recreation director, picked me up and dusted me off and helped me realize my potential.

Tom Spicer allowed me to volunteer at FHSU in the athletic department and then sent me in the direction of now retired Adams State AD, Jeff Geiser. At Adams State, my very first supervisor was Director of Student Life, BJ Keefer. She was so wonderful to be patient with me and teach me the ropes fresh out of college. The Dean of Student Life at Adams State, Ken Marquez, was so gracious to me in allowing me to transition from campus recreation to athletics.

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Assistant Commissioner, Sandee Mott, who is now with UCCS has been a great mentor and sounding board. Joe Folda was the guy that took a chance on an unknown commodity and not only hired me as a director of compliance but then took a second chance and catapulted me in to the AD chair by hiring me to be the development director at CSUP.

Finally, Dr. Steve McCleery, retired president from NMJC and Phillip Roybal, VP of Student Services, gave me my first opportunity to lead a department. We have such a wonderful and genuine respect and adoration for one another and I cannot thank them enough for their trust and guidance as a young, first time AD.

I don’t know where I’d be without the leadership and guidance from these individuals. I am forever thankful for their love, encouragement and trust.

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?

Prior to going on the interview at New Mexico, I was uncertain about whether I wanted to uproot my family and my comfort zone in Pueblo and at CSUP. I had been there for seven years and forged some great bonds and been a part of some very special accomplishments on campus, including starting a football program from scratch. I remember calling one of my mentors and explaining the fear and uncertainty I had. In that moment, they told me “You owe it to yourself to have options. If you don’t have options, you don’t have anything.” That really put me in a position to go down there and be myself and ultimately get the offer to become an Athletic Director.

What advice do you have for young people looking to start a career in college athletics?

Start today and don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. Don’t undersell yourself or your experiences. Believe in your greatness!

What do you do to continue growing professionally?

Some of the things I do to continue to grow professionally is to be involved with NACDA and NATYCAA. Serving on the NATYCAA Executive Committee has been a wonderful experience. I also read as much as I can on leadership and trending topics within the field, whether it’s the BOSCA newsletter, NACDA daily review, or the D1/D2/D3/NAIA Tickers. There are also some great leadership blogs that can be delivered directly to your inbox each day. The information at our fingertips nowadays is astounding. It’s a fast paced environment and you have to be in the know and continue to learn and grow.

I also spent time last summer on the road traveling so several of the larger more established institutions in my region and met with the AD’s to learn some of their best practices and how they lead. A few hours with some of the industries finest was a great way to learn and grow as well as meet new people.

How do you balance your personal and professional life?

This is the million dollar question. When I was at the Division II level, I felt they really embraced the balance of life. Working in this field is a way of life, it’s not 8-5. There are times when it takes 80 hours in a week to get the job done and there are some where it takes 30 hours.

After those long weeks, I get away for an afternoon here and there to pick up my girls from school and take them out for a treat. The great part of this is that my family enjoys being a part of my work. They attend as many home contests as their schedules allow and we occasionally hit the road to cheer on our Reivers!

I also try to carve out at least 30 minutes a day for me to grab a workout of some sort. So many people need so many things from you in this role that it’s a must to take care of yourself and find that time to decompress.