Norwood Teague Takes Over As Gopher Athletic Director
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's off to work on Monday for the new athletic director at the University of Minnesota.
Norwood Teague got the job back in April. He's spent the past six years as athletic director at Virginia Commonwealth University, whose basketball team made it to the NCAA Final Four in 2011.
"I'm certainly happy to be here. There's a lot to do here and I'm thrilled to be at the U," Teague said at a news conference Monday morning.
Monday is Teague's first day on the job, although he officially takes over the athletic director's office and full-time duties for the Gopher athletic department on July 1. He replaces Joel Maturi, who led the athletic department for the past 10 years and decided to step down effective June 30.
Teague said among his list of to-dos immediately as Gophers athletic director is to meet with fundraising donors, alumni and fans as well as meeting with the school's coaches and administrators. Before he can build his vision for Gopher athletics, he said he has to see where the department is at as a whole.
"I certainly want to take a long term approach to everything we're doing here. You have to take it day by day and work really hard, and you know good things will happen," Teague said.
Winning helps a lot of things in a college athletic department, especially in revenue sports like football and basketball. He said fundraising goes right along with that, but attracting big donors to the school doesn't happen right away.
"Fundraising does take time. I know that people have said that I have had success fundraising and it's one reason I was hired, but it's hard work. You have to create a vision and sell it. It doesn't happen overnight," Teague said.
Maturi won't be leaving the university altogether. He will be a faculty member and will be a special assistant to President Eric Kaler.
