When Joe Alleva took over as Duke's athletic director a year ago, he knew the situation he was facing.
The athletic department, though still competitive in many sports, continued to fall further behind in facilities and scholarship endowments. The football program lacked vision and little hope for an upgrade.
A year later, Alleva can sit in his office and describe what lies ahead in the future. There are plans, and in some cases tangible progress, that offer signs the department is moving forward.
"It's been a busy time, but it's been a fun time," Alleva said of his first year. "Because we have a lot to do, it's been very busy. Our facilities are really the worst in the ACC. If you go around and look at some of our facilities, you can see it. That's probably been my No. 1 focus, raising money for facilities and scholarships."
At the top of the list for Alleva has been football. The most obvious indication was a coaching change in late November, when Alleva decided the program needed new direction and fired Fred Goldsmith.
Since then, Alleva has continued working on perhaps his biggest project, pushing toward a new football facility. His quest has received a big boost over the past month, as a $5 million donation by Spike Yoh and a $1.1 million pledge from John Mack have made the facility more feasible.
Alleva estimates a new football complex, which would either be built alongside the practice fields or between the Aquatic Building and Wallace Wade players' tunnel, should cost around $15 million. Thus the recent donations are certainly a big start, but Alleva isn't interested in going halfway on the project and wants a top-of-the-line facility, which would in turn free the Murray Building for soccer and lacrosse.
"We've got the momentum going," he said. "I think we can be competitive in football; I've always thought that. But we've got to try and give it our best shot."
While Alleva says that best shot with fundraising didn't factor in Goldsmith's firing, bringing in Carl Franks has only built up the momentum.
"My decision with Coach Goldsmith really didn't have anything to do with fundraising," Alleva said. "It was purely a decision based on what we needed to change in our football program. I think that that change, though, has generated enthusiasm that has helped in fundraising."
And fundraising is the buzzword for the entire department. More money is still needed to finish the Schwartz-Butters Athletic Center adjacent to Cameron. The project should still be completed in September, but having to worry about money after construction started has taught Alleva one lesson.
He prefers waiting until all of the money is pledged before breaking ground. That's why a new tennis facility is close to fruition but not there yet. Alleva estimates the project is $800,000 short of its $4.3 million price tag, a figure he hopes to reach this summer.
At the same time, he hopes to update Cameron, the athletic department's showpiece, every summer. With Schwartz-Butters opening next door, Alleva worries the new building will make Cameron look that much older.
"We've taken a good look at Cameron Indoor Stadium," he said. "It's 58, 59 years old and we need to keep it nice. Over the course of time, we're going to continue to have some renovations. Each summer, I want to do something to Cameron to keep it looking good."
While other facilities, such as the soccer/lacrosse stadium and historic Jack Coombs Field, are in Alleva's mind for the future, he is also focused on scholarship endowment. Thirty-four endowments over the next three years will go a long way toward meeting that end.
Seven women's sports-basketball, tennis, golf, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and volleyball-will reach the NCAA limit in scholarships, while women's track and rowing will also be adding endowments.
With that in mind, Alleva made the decision not to add another varsity program and thin the financial resources for the current teams.
"If I add more sports, I only have a certain number of resources, and those resources would then have to be diluted," he explained. "I'd rather try to be good in 13 [men's] sports and 13 [women's] sports then dilute the resources."
Of course not all of the responsibility falls on Alleva's shoulders. He lauds the addition of fundraiser Susan Ross as "one of the best things I've ever done" and praises others in both the athletic department and the rest of the University.
"One of the most satisfying things is the support I've gotten," he said. "From the President [Nan Keohane], Tallman Trask, the Board of Trustees and the people in our department. That was probably something that concerned me the most going into the job, but it's been great."
And Alleva is also buoyed by the upcoming spring season. Duke only has three team national championships to its credit, but as many as six or seven teams have legitimate title hopes this spring.
All of which comes to the core of Alleva's job, his role as Duke's No. 1 fan. His visibility at numerous sporting events, beyond the obvious like football and basketball, has been evident all year. Several athletes have been quick to point to his support.
"I try to go to as many as I can," Alleva said. "Part of it is I want to see how our teams are doing, also I want to show the teams that I support them. One of the fun parts about my job is getting to know the student athletes; I really enjoy getting to know them. When I see them on campus or around here, I like to be able to say, 'Hey, great game yesterday.'"
And if Alleva has his way with facilities and scholarships, he believes he'll be able to talk about great games a lot more often.
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