In his first few months as director of Marshall's Big Green Scholarship Foundation, John Sutherland has seen the perception, one that he would like to change.
In his first few months as director of Marshall's Big Green Scholarship Foundation, John Sutherland has seen the perception, one that he would like to change.
Actually, that perception is one of change. As far as occupants of the director's chair, change has come early and often - about four times in the last seven years.
By athletic director Bob Marcum's reckoning, recent Big Green directors have lasted an average of 22 months. Sutherland's predecessors have barely gotten their seats warm before landing a similar job at a bigger-name program.
"People come up to me and say, 'So you're the latest guy,'" Sutherland said. "You can see it in their faces and hear it in their voices."
While Marcum gives his blessing to those who move upward, he and the MU administration were looking for stability at the top of the Big Green. They took an unconventional route, hiring Sutherland from the women's basketball coaching staff.
Sutherland's formal, ultralong title is associate athletic director and executive director of the Big Green. However you refer to him, he will be in Teays Valley tonight, at the annual Putnam County Big Green dinner at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club.
Coaches Mark Snyder, Donnie Jones and Royce Chadwick, plus Marcum, will be guest speakers at the event, which runs from 6 to 8 p.m. Cost is $15.
One thing about Sutherland: He's already been here seven years, arriving at MU with women's basketball coach Chadwick in March 2001. And as deeply rooted as he is in West Virginia, he is not eager to leave.
"Four directors in seven years, I think for any organization, it's pretty tough," Sutherland said. "I'm home. I intend to be here as long as I can, to do as good a job as I can, if they want to keep me."
Sutherland grew up in Cleveland, but his father was a Dunbar native and his mother hailed from Amma in Roane County. He has an aunt in Charleston, an uncle in St. Albans, other relatives in Jackson County and, when he arrived in MU, his cousin was a postmaster in Huntington. Sutherland is married with three boys, the oldest about to become a junior at Marshall.
He started his coaching career in 1978 as a student assistant at Kent State. He went to Arkansas in 1981, where he was head coach from 1984-93. He served as an assistant at Notre Dame for the next three years, then spent four years as head coach at New Mexico State before coming to Marshall.
One common thread through those coaching stints was his fund-raising ability. Granted, it came on a much smaller scale than handling a scholarship fund for all sports, but Sutherland compiled notable achievements.
At Arkansas and Notre Dame, he helped launch booster clubs from scratch. He initiated New Mexico State's first-ever season-ticket drive.
When he arrived at Marshall, there was a booster club, but it numbered 11 at the very most. There were season-ticket holders, but they could have stood in a 20th-century phone booth. Yes, all three of them.
The Locker Room Club now totals about 200 strong, and it raises more than $100,000 annually for women's basketball. Now, he is recruiting donors full-time, much like he was recruiting basketball players at this time of year.
Marcum likes what he sees of Sutherland, who is nearing the end of his first Big Green Coaches' Tour.
"It was a big decision to give up coaching," Marcum said. "But he wanted to do it, and we wanted him to do it. I think John is someone interested in staying in this area. He's done a great job at going out in the state and organizing the meetings.
"And what I've done is, you don't want to go in and take over what they're trying to establish. You've got to let them build it a little bit. I was down in Lexington, I thought John and the staff just did a great job of running that Big Green meeting, just a super job. And you can see that they're getting more experience as they go around the state with the meetings. The important thing is to make sure you go back."
The Big Green has come back annually to Putnam County, and the numbers show it has come back strong. Membership in 2007-08 stayed at 176, even though the minimum donation threshold was raised from $25 to $50. That is well up from 125 members in 2004-05.
The amount of donations topped the $100,000 mark for the first time this fiscal year, totaling $101,892. That is up about 52 percent up from the $66,989 in 2004-05.
The dinner at Sleepy Hollow is always a well-attended event, with about 150 expected tonight.
"For a 'down' year, that is a lot of people," Sutherland said. "By far, it's the biggest group on the tour. I'm looking forward to meeting those people. We can get a lot done with them."
Putnam Big Green donations compare favorably to those of Kanawha County. The Kanawha membership slipped from 200 in 2006-07 to 190, though total donations rose from $102,072 to $120,455.
All told, the Big Green fund is expected to transfer about $1.6 million to the athletic department, up from $1,416,250 in 2006-07.
Reach Doug Smock at dougsm...@wvgazette.com
or 348-5130.
In his first few months as director of Marshall's Big Green Scholarship Foundation, John Sutherland has seen the perception, one that he would like to change.
Actually, that perception is one of change. As far as occupants of the director's chair, change has come early and often - about four times in the last seven years.
By athletic director Bob Marcum's reckoning, recent Big Green directors have lasted an average of 22 months. Sutherland's predecessors have barely gotten their seats warm before landing a similar job at a bigger-name program.
"People come up to me and say, 'So you're the latest guy,'" Sutherland said. "You can see it in their faces and hear it in their voices."
While Marcum gives his blessing to those who move upward, he and the MU administration were looking for stability at the top of the Big Green. They took an unconventional route, hiring Sutherland from the women's basketball coaching staff.
Sutherland's formal, ultralong title is associate athletic director and executive director of the Big Green. However you refer to him, he will be in Teays Valley tonight, at the annual Putnam County Big Green dinner at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club.
Coaches Mark Snyder, Donnie Jones and Royce Chadwick, plus Marcum, will be guest speakers at the event, which runs from 6 to 8 p.m. Cost is $15.
One thing about Sutherland: He's already been here seven years, arriving at MU with women's basketball coach Chadwick in March 2001. And as deeply rooted as he is in West Virginia, he is not eager to leave.
"Four directors in seven years, I think for any organization, it's pretty tough," Sutherland said. "I'm home. I intend to be here as long as I can, to do as good a job as I can, if they want to keep me."
Sutherland grew up in Cleveland, but his father was a Dunbar native and his mother hailed from Amma in Roane County. He has an aunt in Charleston, an uncle in St. Albans, other relatives in Jackson County and, when he arrived in MU, his cousin was a postmaster in Huntington. Sutherland is married with three boys, the oldest about to become a junior at Marshall.
He started his coaching career in 1978 as a student assistant at Kent State. He went to Arkansas in 1981, where he was head coach from 1984-93. He served as an assistant at Notre Dame for the next three years, then spent four years as head coach at New Mexico State before coming to Marshall.
One common thread through those coaching stints was his fund-raising ability. Granted, it came on a much smaller scale than handling a scholarship fund for all sports, but Sutherland compiled notable achievements.
At Arkansas and Notre Dame, he helped launch booster clubs from scratch. He initiated New Mexico State's first-ever season-ticket drive.
When he arrived at Marshall, there was a booster club, but it numbered 11 at the very most. There were season-ticket holders, but they could have stood in a 20th-century phone booth. Yes, all three of them.
The Locker Room Club now totals about 200 strong, and it raises more than $100,000 annually for women's basketball. Now, he is recruiting donors full-time, much like he was recruiting basketball players at this time of year.
Marcum likes what he sees of Sutherland, who is nearing the end of his first Big Green Coaches' Tour.
"It was a big decision to give up coaching," Marcum said. "But he wanted to do it, and we wanted him to do it. I think John is someone interested in staying in this area. He's done a great job at going out in the state and organizing the meetings.
"And what I've done is, you don't want to go in and take over what they're trying to establish. You've got to let them build it a little bit. I was down in Lexington, I thought John and the staff just did a great job of running that Big Green meeting, just a super job. And you can see that they're getting more experience as they go around the state with the meetings. The important thing is to make sure you go back."
The Big Green has come back annually to Putnam County, and the numbers show it has come back strong. Membership in 2007-08 stayed at 176, even though the minimum donation threshold was raised from $25 to $50. That is well up from 125 members in 2004-05.
The amount of donations topped the $100,000 mark for the first time this fiscal year, totaling $101,892. That is up about 52 percent up from the $66,989 in 2004-05.
The dinner at Sleepy Hollow is always a well-attended event, with about 150 expected tonight.
"For a 'down' year, that is a lot of people," Sutherland said. "By far, it's the biggest group on the tour. I'm looking forward to meeting those people. We can get a lot done with them."
Putnam Big Green donations compare favorably to those of Kanawha County. The Kanawha membership slipped from 200 in 2006-07 to 190, though total donations rose from $102,072 to $120,455.
All told, the Big Green fund is expected to transfer about $1.6 million to the athletic department, up from $1,416,250 in 2006-07.
Reach Doug Smock at dougsm...@wvgazette.com
or 348-5130.
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