Applicant wants to raise standards

by Katy Knapp

Daily Lobo

Rick Hartzell said his response to why the Lobos have a had a few run-ins with the law lately might not be popular.

Hartzell, the second finalist interviewed for the coveted UNM athletics director slot, said some of the responsibility falls on the types of students coaches recruit. And some responsibility falls on the athletics department holding students accountable, he said.

"And some of it falls on kids doing the right thing," Hartzell said.

Football player Aleem Harris is the latest of a string of Lobos running into legal troubles. Harris was arrested Friday and charged with four counts of aggravated battery and one count of kidnapping after getting into a fight with his ex-girlfriend.

Hartzell said everybody makes mistakes and almost always deserves a second chance.

"But there comes a point in time when you say to people, 'Either you behave the way you're supposed to behave, in a socially responsible way, or you're going to have to go some place else and behave however it is you want to behave, because you're not going to do it here,'" he said.

Hartzell, the athletics director at the University of Northern Iowa, said he wants the position at UNM because it would be an adventure.

"My wife and I are anxious to start our lives together, and obviously be able to do that in a place where we are not so comfortable or predictable, or has some allure to it," he said.

He has achieved a lot at the University of Northern Iowa, he said.

The University of Northern Iowa Panthers have been successful during his seven-year tenure, he said.

The men's basketball team competed in the NCAA Tournament three years in a row, the football team played in a national championship last season and the track team is the best in the Missouri Valley Conference.

"One of my concerns is that I don't want to get complacent," he said. "I don't want to sit back and just ride it out. I want to try to do some things that stretch me a little bit, and from all indications, this job would do that."

Hartzell is the second to undergo a day of interviews with the UNM Board of Regents, Lobo coaches, alumni, media and members of the Lobo Club. Paul Krebs, athletics director of Bowling Green State University, was interviewed Friday. Jim Schaus, athletics director from Wichita State University, will be interviewed today.

Jamie Koch, president of the Board of Regents, said he hopes to find a replacement for Rudy Davalos by the March 13 regents meeting. Davalos is retiring in August after 13 years at UNM.

Hartzell said he doesn't know why he should get the position over the other candidates. He said that decision is up to regents and acting President David Harris.

"As I told the committee this morning, if one of those guys is better suited for the job than me, then hooray for the University of New Mexico," he said. "I am what I am. I'm an Iowa farm kid that has a good work ethic, that's been extremely lucky and placed in the right situations."

Hartzell said he is impressed with the athletic facilities at UNM, including the Rudy Davalos Basketball Center. As far as weaknesses in the program, there aren't many except for some administrative issues, he said. One potential problem is the resignation of former UNM President Louis Caldera.

"You know, there's no president sitting there. Not sure what that's going to bring, so that makes it a little uneasy," he said.

But, good facilities could make for a successful program, Hartzell said.

"I don't know the specifics of the budget and some of those things, but it seems to me some of those pieces are in place for this program to compete in the top half of the Mountain West," he said. "And if you can do that on an annual basis, then you get a chance to dabble around the championship and put yourself in a NCAA position."

Student athletes at Northern Iowa University have an average combined 3.08 GPA. In 2005, the average GPA of student athletes was 3.04.

Hartzell said the key is recruiting quality student athletes.

"Well, you try to recruit the smartest kids you can that are going to study hard and try to keep them on track, and hope they do all the right things," he said.

But sometimes student athletes make bad judgment calls, just like all students, Hartzell said.

"When people want to hold athletes to a standard that is so far above and beyond what the general student body is held to, it's wrong," he said.