He Knows the Way In San Jose

Athletic Director Chuck Bell is leading San Jose State in the right direction.
by: Rod Smith
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In a geographical area of California well-known for its technology innovations and sports achievements' San Jose State's Chuck Bell knows that his athletic teams must be competitive if people are to identify with, much less attend Spartan athletic events. But grappling for attention in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, where competitiveness is cutting edge, can be difficult. All the same, Bell, who is nearing the end of his third full year as athletic director at SJSU, doesn't shy away from the many challenges of maintaining and even reshaping an athletic department that is on the cusp of the national spotlight. If you want proof, there's the Silicon Valley Football Classic. This New Year's Eve bowl game - which Bell and his San Jose associates conceptualized and then made a reality last year - could not only revitalize SJSU's tradition-rich football program, but provides a source of identity and financial support for Spartan football program and the university's entire sports department. However, the shine from Bell's administrative capabilities was evident before he took the head job at San Jose.

Bell arrived at San Jose State in February 1998 after an impressive five-year tenure as the athletic director at Utah State University. While at USU, Bell produced a balanced budget each year, successfully initiated and completed a three-year plan to make the school Title IX compliant, and saw the graduation rate for student-athletes rise to 78 percent. The school won 21 conference championships, went to two bowl games, and participated in both the NCAA and National Invitational Tournament men's basketball competition.

Since arriving in Silicon Valley, not only has Bell raised athletic expectations, but he has improved the performance of the Spartan athletic department and maintained diversity. His recent hiring of long-time Arkansas football assistant Fitz Hill, brings to five the number of African-American head coaches in Division I football. A former coach, Bell enjoys making tough decisions, and he thrives on the competitiveness of the Valley.

How would you describe or define your management style?

First of all, you've got to hire good people and let them do their job. I don't micro-manage. You've got to try and encourage creativity, risk taking, and (get individuals) who aren't afraid to make mistakes. Knowing that all ideas are not good ones, but get people to think outside the box and be visionary. Being in Silicon Valley, we need to be fluid and mobile. Something that works today may not be good next week, so we change. Changing our minds, changing decisions, changing the way we do things doesn't mean that we've made a bad decision, but (rather) that we're moving with Silicon Valley.

How does being located in Silicon Valley affect the tempo or nature of these changes?

As a metropolitan university, we need to be on the cutting edge of what is happening with technology and with the world of investments. (Our location also) causes us to be in a competitive situation where there is a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar. We're on the door-steps of Stanford, probably the best overall athletic program in the country - we're only 20 minutes apart and play them each year. We're in the same town as three or four professional teams with the San Jose Sharks (hockey), San Jose Giants (minor league baseball) and (San Jose) Sabercats (arena football). Just forty minutes away are the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland A's, (San Francisco) 49er's and the Oakland Raiders, so we have a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar. We have to be creative and have to encourage that in our whole department.

What are some of the key factors you look for when you are hiring a coach?

First of all, we want someone who'll be a good influence on student-athletes in every phase of their academic, social life and their athletic success. So they'll be good role models. They must have strong leadership qualities that will lead the young men and women to success in the classroom, on the area of competition and socially. I want coaches who will buy in to the national CHAMPS/Life Skills program. CHAMPS is the acronym for Challenging Athletic Minds for Personal Success - this program deals with all the community service and other things that go on outside of athletics.

Each time I hire, I try to find people who are good fund raisers and good with the public - the media. Today's coaches have to be public relations arms for the university, and they also have to be great fund raisers. Because they are often called upon to interact throughout the state and nation, they have to be good at that and they have to like it. What they say and the way they act has to reflect the diversity of Silicon Valley and the Bay Area and the university. San Jose State has more than 100 different languages spoken on our campus. We've been able to successfully recruit and hire coaches who have been highly accepted here - we have one head coach who is Vietnamese, we have two head coaches who are Latino, and we have three African-American head coaches. That kind of diversity in a smaller Division I athletic program - 16 sports - is probably among the most diverse in the nation.

The other quality that you look for is proven success. I want somebody who has proven they can be successful, and is not spoiled by needing all the amenities in order to win. For example, if someone says I've got to have this and this and this to win, then I'd rather have somebody who has been successful at a smaller institution or under a smaller set of circumstances and thinks (San Jose State) is a real advancement.

As an athletic director, part of your role is to help set the philosophical tone for the athletic department or more specifically for the football program. Is there anything that you've done at San Jose State that falls into this category?

We stepped out on a limb a long way, with the encouragement of our President (Dr. Robert L. Caret) - he stepped out on a limb with me too - by starting a new bowl game - the Silicon Valley Football Classic. We did this, knowing that it was a huge amount of work, a huge investment, for three reasons. We did it to solidify our football program and its reputation. (Spartan football) had a good (reputation) in the distant past with coaches like Dick Vermeil, Jack Elway, Pop Warner, and Bill Walsh, but in recent years it needed some image building. The other problem came from an identity crisis. Not everybody outside of California knows where (the city of) San Jose is. It's a larger city than Oakland and San Francisco, but people know where those two cities are - (but) they don't know where San Jose is. So we wanted to identify San Jose State, our stadium and our location with Silicon Valley. Finally, there were some spin-offs from hosting a bowl game that would improve our facilities, our stadium, our scoreboards. Some of these things that will be coming will help our football program.

You mentioned facilities. What role do facilities play in the success or failure of an athletic program?

Facilities are huge in recruiting and retaining good coaches and recruiting and training good student-athletes. I think facilities are a major player.

What are some things that life-time assistants such as Fitz Hill can do to make themselves more viable candidates for head coaching opportunities that may come along?

Some of the things that attracted me to Coach (Fitz) Hill were that he had moved himself up through the assistant ranks and was the assistant head coach at Arkansas. He was stable, he had been (at Arkansas) a long time - they didn't want to lose him. Houston Nutt and athletic director Frank Broyles had in fact changed his title several times and given him more money in order to get him to stay - so that told me a lot. I think that an assistant coach has to show that kind of advancement and has to impress the people where they are - where the athletic director and the coach doesn't want to lose them, and even fight to keep them.

If you're looking for a head coach, you want to know what kind of reputation a young assistant has. Fitz Hill was known as an active leader in his church. I was impressed with his organizational and leadership abilities because he had received four medals for his efforts in Desert Storm as a young lieutenant. He's been called a young Colin Powell (the retired US Army General). The fact that he was a minority I thought would be a great fit here in Silicon Valley. The fact that more than 50 percent of our football players are African-Americans, I thought he would be a great role model.

I knew of him for several years through a mutual friend who used to be at Arkansas and who said he was probably the brightest young (coaching) prospect in America. For a year or so, I didn't even know he was African-American. When I visited with Fitz at his home (during the interview process), he said "I'm in it for the young men and the influence I can have on their lives. I'm not in it for how big a home I can buy or how my salary is - if I'm successful all those things will come." He sold me in one evening at his home, and I knew if he could sell me, he could sell the boosters.

The other thing that (Fitz) had a great reputation for was his recruiting organizational ability. He brought that with him from his years at Arkansas and his success in the military. His recruiting setup is highly organized - it's meticulous. I think a young assistant has to be a great fund raiser and recruiting organizer. Not that he has to personally be just a great recruiter but (also has) to have a great recruiting system.

How much daily or weekly interaction do you have with new head football coach Fitz Hill or with other members of his staff?

I have two senior associates who supervise the sports and work with the head coaches on day-to-day mechanics and details. I work more closely with the head coaches in an overall vision capacity. And with those who have a higher public visibility, I spend more time because we're at more of the fundraising, corporate type meetings. With Fitz, because football is the highest profile program, we go to a lot of speaking engagements and fundraising outings together.

I guess beyond that, I have a great relationship, a mutual trust with (the coaches), and I enjoy being with them. I coached myself for 13 years, so we're able to interact. I know their feelings, I know their anxieties, I know their times of frustration, and I know when they've got their game face on because I've been there. And I think that makes for a great relationship. A lot of times I miss coaching, so I like being with coaches. I enjoy their competitiveness. I enjoy their intensity and edge that they have -- it's what makes them good. I learn a lot from people like Fitz Hill and (golf coach) Nancy Lewis. They reinvigorate me as well.

What are your priorities for the Spartan football program? How important is winning and what is your measurement or yard stick of success?

The yardstick for success has to include winning because of the economic impact it has in the athletic department and the entire university. When you're in the Bay Area like we are and there's such a (prominent) competition for the entertainment dollar you have to be successful or people won't come. (Fans) are very fickle. There are a lot of sports fans here - it's now the 10th largest city in America - but they won't come unless you win. And if they don't come and buy tickets, then you've got real financial problems. So, winning has to be an important component.

But even winning can be ruined if there is poor performance in the classroom or behavioral problems. That was something that I knew Fitz would bring with him - a caring, loving - tough love. Kids respect him, and they know that he cares for them. But he demands behavior and discipline. For example, not only do they have to be at class, they have to be on time, and they have to sit in one of the first three rows. Those are part of (coach Hill's) rules, and there are penalties to be paid if they are late for or miss a class or tutoring session. That's (also) part of my priorities - that's what I was looking for him to carry out. If at the end of their eligibility, athletes are not able to graduate or graduate shortly thereafter, then we've failed at everything we've done. (Athletes) getting their degree is the most important part. And their behavior is second and winning third - and I've already said how important winning is so those other things are even more important.

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