Saturday, July 1, 2017

Part of a regular series.

Throughout the year, GNACsports.com uses this space to profile conference student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. Collectively, it is these individuals who make the GNAC one of the top NCAA Division II athletic conferences in the nation. 

Name: Keith Hackett
Role: Athletic Director
School: Tarkio College (undergraduate), University of Kansas & Oklahoma State University (graduate)
Hometown: Born In Three Rivers, Quebec, raised in The Bronx & Nanuet, N.Y.

Why Did You Decide To Work In College Athletics: I started my career as a college football coach in 1978 at a small private college in Kansas, Baker University, while pursuing my master's degree at the University of Kansas. My intent was to make coaching college football my career.

I moved to Memphis State University in 1983 as a graduate assistant and gained a full-time coaching position there in the spring of 1984. I was pretty fortunate to have a Division I coaching position at that early age.

Over the past 30 years, I have had a wide range of leadership and administrative roles including dean of admissions for a law school and graduate school, university provost and other interesting and excellent senior level positions on college campuses, but I always had the desire of leading an athletic department.

Who Has Influenced You The Most As A Professional -- Either As An Inspiration, A Mentor Or Philosophically: There have been several individuals who I would count as mentors and advisors. Besides my parents, the most influential person in my professional life was a college president named Jerry Walker. He was the person who gave my wife and I our first real opportunity to work in higher education. He served as a mentor and advisor in almost every opportunity I had from 1978 on. We have remained very close through the years. He was probably the most influential and important person in my professional life.

I would also count Cary Groth, the former athletic director at Nevada, Tom Thomas of Cardinal, former Oregon State athletic director Dutch Baughman; Chris Ault, the former AD and head football coach at Nevada; Jim Mastro, who currently serves as an assistant coach at Washington State; and of course, my wife of 40 years, Pat Hackett.

Biggest Obstacle Overcome As A Professional: We have obstacles and challenges daily in our work regardless of where we are, who we work with and what size our budget is. To answer the question, the biggest obstacle I have had to overcome is coming to the realization that obstacles and challenges are not put there to frustrate us. They are there to make us stronger, to look at different ways to solve problems and to help further prepare us for what is ahead for us. Once I started looking at obstacles as opportunities to grow rather that burdens, it changed my outlook completely.

What Does Division II Mean To You: Working at the Division II level has allowed me to do a number of things that I may not have had the opportunity to do at the Division I level. I have had the opportunity to get to know our student-athletes better and work more closely with them in a wide range of settings (mostly because of the reduced resources we have to work with at this level). In working closer with our student-athletes, I believe I am also able to have more of an influence and an impact on them as young adults and future leaders. I have also been able to become more engaged across the campus at this level, which is a very good thing for any administrator.

Extracurricular Activities: There isn't much time during the academic year for extracurricular activity since we have so many obligations with our teams, university and community commitments, but I do make time to exercise daily, spend time with my wife in the evenings see our six grandsons as often as possible.

I am also an avid reader and spend time reading each morning and evening. Most of my reading is for further professional development, but I also take time to read on a wide range of topics and interests. I also enjoy having the opportunity to talk with young people in the profession to help them find their way in our business.

Best Advice You Would Give To Student-Athletes: Find something you like to do and do it and don't worry about the money, it will follow you if you find a career that is fulfilling.

If You Could Spend The Day With One Person (Past Or Present), Who Would It Be And Why: Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president. After finishing the book "Team of Rivals," about Mr. Lincoln's rise to the presidency, I would like to get a chance to ask him what he had done to prepare for the challenges he had faced. He was a remarkable leader and example of grace and character at a very difficult time in our nation's history. As a student of leadership, I would like to get more of a "peek behind the curtain" to see what he was like.

Favorite Sports Teams: I am a fan of the institution I work for. I only have time for the UAA Seawolves. However, I have always been a Yankee fan (spending past of my youth in the Bronx and most of my young life in the New York City area).

Favorite Athlete: There are too many to mention. That's a hard question to ask someone who has spent most of the past 40 years around superb young men and women who happen to be athletes. I do have a few that I think are very special, but not just because of their athleticism. 

Most Memorable Sports Related Moment: That is an easy question to answer. I am getting goose bumps just thinking about it. The most memorable moment for me was when I was a senior associate athletic director at Nevada. I was the sports administrator for our football team and very close to the coaches and our players. We beat Boise State at home in an unbelievable finish at Mackay Stadium on Thanksgiving weekend in 2010. It was a very memorable win on national TV that had BCS opportunities. It was a game and experience I will never forget.