Member Profile: Sandy Barbour
By Ann Tatko, Contra Costa Times

Cal's New Wonder Woman - Barbour not afraid to dive in headfirst as AD.

There is no warming up in the bullpen for Sandy Barbour. She is being sent straight to the mound in the bottom of the ninth in a critical save situation. New Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour doesn't come across as a woman under pressure. She inherited a $160 million renovation project for Memorial Stadium. She handles the daily barrage of questions about how she plans to keep football coach Jeff Tedford. She took over an athletic department with an annual operating deficit of $3 million to $5 million.
 
Barbour has occupied the job officially for only 25 days. Unpacked boxes still sit on the floor in front of her desk. Her home back in South Bend, Ind., has yet to sell. Her rental in Kensington, which until last week hadn't even seen in the light of day, is her place of residence until the owners return at Christmas. Yet, Barbour acts as if she has been at Cal for months.
 
"Welcome to my office, home and locker room," she said Wednesday, gesturing to her large, partially unpacked office at Haas Pavilion.
 
Since being hired Sept. 15, Barbour, 44, has had to transition quickly from deputy director of athletics at Notre Dame to the top position at Cal. But fast-paced adjustment is nothing new to Barbour, the daughter of a Navy aviator whose career moved the family throughout the United States and Europe.Barbour knows better than anyone that she will need that mindset as she assumes custodianship of what she calls "the 800-pound gorilla in the room."
 
The Memorial Stadium project is viewed as the foundation for Cal's most pressing athletic needs, as Barbour sees it. Without a renovated stadium, Cal has little chance of retaining Tedford, who has revived the football program into a Rose Bowl contender. And without a successful football program, Cal's athletic department likely won't achieve the "solid financial footing" Barbour envisions for all 27 of the school's sports.
 
"A lot of my priorities are in terms of football, and I make no apologies for that," said Barbour, who is Cal's first female athletic director. "Football drives the financial train. The financial success there will enable all of our sports to benefit and flourish."
 
Discussions began four years ago about renovating Memorial Stadium because of seismic concerns. Ever since, the project seemingly has remained in talk-mode, with minimal progress made toward an actual plan. Barbour said she will let the experts outline what can be done in terms of construction, planning and permits. She added that she expects those decisions to be made in the near future.
 
"I'm pushing the pedal pretty hard because there's no point in waiting," she said. "We're going to do it, so let's answer the questions that need to be answered and get on with it."
 
Barbour's words hint to her unabashed nature, as well as what she describes as an underlying impatience at times. But she also understands the logistics of the renovation project, which is why an upcoming deadline poses no real pressure. Tedford's contract contains a $1 million buyout clause that lowers to $500,000 if the renovation hasn't begun by Dec. 15.
 
"It's unrealistic to think we're going to be able to do anything about that clause," Barbour said. "It would be disingenuous to go and put a shovel in the ground just to meet the terms of his contract."
 
Instead, she wants to see what she believes is realistic progress. "What I need right now is a defined concept, and then we'll go out and raise the money to build it," she said. Barbour's approach sounds well-versed. In fact, she has experience in this area, having overseen a $127 million athletics facilities master plan at Notre Dame.
 
Yet, seemingly at question is her ability as a fund-raiser. During her Notre Dame tenure, she mostly handled administrative duties. She did begin a fund-raising campaign while athletic director at Tulane but not until the end of her three-year stint in 1999.
 
"It would be a mistake to underestimate her abilities simply because fund raising wasn't her primary responsibility," Notre Dame associate athletic director John Heisler said. "She is a natural when it comes to building relationships, and that's probably as invaluable as experience."
 
Barbour agrees, but she adds that success as a fund-raiser also relies on passion. "You have to believe in what you're raising money for," she said. "And that's so easy to do, especially here." Cal handed Barbour a perfect sales' pitch, one that combines her commitment to both athletics and academics.
 
Barbour compared a U.S. News & World Report study on the top 20 Division I-A universities to the annual Director's Cup, which ranks the best overall intercollegiate athletic programs. The only four to make both lists were Stanford, Duke, Notre Dame and Cal, with Cal being the lone public university. "There's no doubt in my mind that this place has the most potential of any place I've ever been," Barbour said. Part of that potential rests with the football program remaining under Tedford's tutelage. Tedford is considered among the most sought-after football coaches in America after helping turn around the Bears program.

 
"I really haven't had a lot of interaction with (Barbour) yet," Tedford said. "I am happy that she allows you to do your job, and she seems to be there for you when you need her." Need seems to be a word Barbour is hearing a lot lately, especially from alumni who are concerned Tedford will take a job elsewhere. Barbour speaks with conviction when she says she believes Tedford wants to be at Cal. "You know what? It's a fabulous problem to have," Barbour said. "I've had this problem before. I love having this problem. Bring it on."
 
Barbour had less luck keeping another rising talent on her payroll at Tulane. Despite being offered a matching salary, Tommy Bowden left Tulane for Clemson in 1998. "Sandy offered me everything I wanted. Tulane just didn't seem like my best shot at a national championship," Bowden said last week. "It was no fault of Sandy's. She was a heck of a saleswoman."
 
Although the NFL could entice Tedford to leave, Barbour said, she doesn't expect another college to lure him away. "I think Tommy always thought he would come to Tulane, be successful and move on to a bigger and better-known program," Barbour said. "I think Jeff has always thought, 'Let me go someplace, put my mark on it, make it special and grow it into that dream job.'" In turn, the football program could help Barbour to make this her dream job, too.
 
Increased exposure through the football team already has elevated visibility for Cal. In time, Barbour said, she hopes that will improve the athletic department's financial situation, although she is quick to point out that "deficit" doesn't accurately describe the current situation. "Deficit to me means you overspent your checkbook, and to my understanding, that's not the case here," she said.
 
Still, Barbour said she sees ways to make the department less dependent on the overall university for funding. She would like to expand use of endowments, already in place for some Cal sports programs, to all of the teams. "We can make it happen, with the help of the Cal faithful," she said. "What we're capable of doing involves everybody pitching in."
 
The bulk of the work has yet to begin, but already Barbour is settling into her new home. Potted plants adorn her office shelves, along with three bears dressed in Cal shirts. An autographed Jeff Kent bat hangs from one shelf, while the matching jersey remains tucked away in a nearby box. And sitting prominently on her desk is a carved wooden bear, a gift from a Cal donor at a recent auction. "He felt I had to have a bear for the athletic department," Barbour said. "I think it looks good sitting right there, kind of like it belongs there."