Alden discusses athletic changes in “dynamic times”

With all the changes that are coming from Mizzou’s impending move to the Southeastern Conference, it is safe to say that these are “dynamic times” for the university. Everyone knows that Mizzou’s athletic department must prepare for these changes, but perhaps no one knows this better than athletic director Mike Alden.

Yesterday, Alden gave a presentation as part of the Trulaske College of Business Speakers Series entitled “Leading Mizzou Athletics in Dynamic Times”. He spoke to an audience primarily of students that filled 80-90 percent of Bush Auditorium in Cornell Hall.

Alden began his presentation by showing how many different people Mizzou represents as a university, including faculty, students, alumni, and the state of Missouri as a whole. He emphasized that the university’s primary goal is education and research, and while athletics is not the most important aspect, it still carries a tremendous amount of influence around campus. He stated that athletics cuts across every category of people he listed that Mizzou represents, and is the best advertising vehicle for the university.

He then approached Mizzou’s four core values (respect, responsibility, discovery, and excellence) from a business standpoint and how he uses them in everyday decision making.

"“We tell kids, it doesn’t matter how great a jump shot you have, or how far you throw a football,” Alden said. “If you don’t cut it in the classroom, you won’t be able to play. You have to reflect our values.”"

He emphasized that when making decisions for the university, you need to stay grounded and focus on the core values of the institution, which in this case are listed above. He said “what goes up also comes down,” sharing examples of good and bad times Mizzou has experienced in the recent past. He showed highlights from Mizzou’s defeat of then No. 1 Oklahoma in 2010, and how it painted Mizzou in such a positive light and brought so much good attention to Mizzou from a national standpoint. In contrast he showed an article about former men’s basketball coach Quin Snyder’s resignation in 2006, and how negative light can be brought just as easily on an institution as positive attention. Alden recognized an error in his thinking when handling the Snyder situation.

"“I made those decisions [regarding Snyder] looking at what would happen to the student, not at what was best for the institution,” he said. “It reflected negatively toward the institution, and I learned a big lesson from that.”"

Alden continued by saying the decisions the athletic department always comes back to the core values of the organization, and gave several questions that came into play when deciding something as big as conference realignment. He used the following questions:

"Are we all treated the same?What do we put in, hold out, and what are the rules?Who are the members of our family?Do we grow our greater community?Are we “married until death do us part”?"

Alden said that some issues with the Big 12 that influenced the decision to move were inequalities in bowl alignments and shared revenue with other schools, and the fact that over the past year and a half, seven schools have publicly looked at different conferences, despite saying they were “all in”.

The overall message of the presentation was to always stick to your values when making a decision, despite any criticisms you may draw for your decisions. As long as you are able to make what is, in your mind, the best decision for the institution, you have made the right decision. You may have to respond to your critics, but it’s your values that matter most, not theirs.

Alden did a fine job explaining what went into the decision to make the move to the SEC at a time when a lot of change is being made and people want to know why. The majority of reasons for the move put out there by others involve money and stability in a new conference. This is true and Alden touched on these benefits, but he also did a good job explaining what else was involved in the move and that it was more than just about the added revenue.

With every passing day, the move to the SEC seems more and more like a great thing for Mizzou. As the dust has settled, and people have begun to look carefully at what this means for Mizzou, it’s becoming more difficult to be skeptical. Sure there is a step up in competition, and it is unfortunate that Mizzou is leaving behind years of traditions and relationships, but at the end of the day, the athletic department made the decision that they ultimately felt was best for the university and upheld its core values: respect, responsibility, discovery, and excellence.