Bollinger names interim AD

By Jeannie Baumann

Daily Staff Reporter

University alum and Ann Arbor resident Bill Martin will serve as the University's interim athletic director as former athletic director Tom Goss resigned at the end of February, University President Lee Bollinger announced Friday.

Martin is the president of First Martin Corp., an Ann Arbor real estate development company, and the founder and chairman of the board for the Bank of Ann Arbor. He is also on the Board of Directors for the U.S. Olympic Committee and president of the United States Sailing Foundation.

"Anything I can do to help the University of Michigan, I'm happy to do it," Martin said. "I learned a profession here, I met my wife through here and I learned to sail here. It's just payback."

"Quite frankly, I'm surprised (Bollinger) asked me," Martin said.

Bollinger said Martin's financial and business background combined with his experience in amateur sports makes him a perfect candidate for this position.

"The department faces a number of issues that really must be resolved," Bollinger said.

These problems include the athletic department's financial deficit, issues of morale and the investigation of Ed Martin - a former Michigan booster. Ed Martin is undergoing a federal investigation for his association with the men's basketball team for allegedly violating two NCAA rules.

"The department continues to face serious financial issues," Bollinger said. "At the moment, it has been fairly clear since the beginning of this calendar year that the department may be in a significant deficit."

"I am focusing on this day forward, I'm not dwelling on the past," Bill Martin said.

Martin served on a committee formed by Bollinger in February 1999, to look into the financial problems of the athletic department. Budget plans released last summer revealed the department to be in $2 million deficit.

"As a result of that, he has as much knowledge as anyone about the intricacies of athletic finances," Bollinger said.

Bollinger said he plans to release actual numbers within the next few days.

"We may still face a continuous set of issues surrounding the investigation we started and concluded over a year ago around Mr. Ed Martin. We are waiting to see what will evolve out of the U.S. attorney's office," Bollinger said.

Despite his various business commitments, the interim director said he plans to prioritize his position at the University.

"I won't spend any more time on outside activities," he said. "This is my full-time job here."

Martin's term begins today, pending approval from the University Board of Regents, who will meet March 20. He said his first order of business is to meet the staff.

"I want to let them get to know me," he said.

But Martin said he does not plan to become the permanent athletic director, and has indicated that he does not wish to be compensated for his term.

Assistant Athletic Director Mike Stevenson, who has been with the athletic department for 30 years and worked with six athletic directors, said he is excited to be able to work with Martin.

"We've got the best man that we could possibly have," he said.

Assistant Athletic Director Warde Manuel expressed a similar sentiment.

"I think he'll bring a tremendous amount of knowledge to the table, in terms of Olympic sports and how things are done, on a broader international and U.S. perspective, and I think that'll be a value to the University and I think he'll be able to fold in very quickly some knowledge of what happens at a collegiate level."

Manuel and Stevenson are serving on a transition committee that Bollinger appointed March 1.

Vice President and University Secretary Lisa Tedesco, who is chairing the committee, said the committee is only to serve as a resource to Martin, and he will have the same authority as any past athletic director.

"The athletic department and interim athletic director will be the entity, but as that individual needs some resources or some information, we've been around long enough to provide the interim with background information," Tedesco said of the committee.

KIMITSU YOGACHI/Daily

New interim Athletic Director Bill Martin stands inside of Weidenbach Hall yesterday.