Nandagiri
After only eight months on the job, University of Houston Athletics Director Chet Gladchuk has much to smile about.
"I am more excited about being here than I was when I first came. I have just learned more about the city and the people who make up the university."
After all, he witnessed the final run of Carl Lewis here on campus. He revitalized the entire basketball program with the hiring of Clyde Drexler and Joe Curl. He has brought back pride and respectability to a program and a university desperately needing a shot of athletic excitement.
His diligence in his work has drawn much praise from his coaches.
Cougar head football coach Kim Helton says that he is impressed with his boss' work. "The man has worked endlessly. He has lots of things to fix, and he is trying to do what is needed."
Now the Cougars will head into the next millennium with hope that their university will once again grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
On the fiscal side, it seems everything is in order, as the athletic department is under the budget and has come up with alternative methods to raise funds such as the Houston Athletics Foundation.
Gladchuk is definitely a man with a plan. After talking to Drexler about possibly becoming the next coach last October, Gladchuk fired former men's basketball coach Alvin Brooks in early March right before the Conference USA basketball tournament in Cincinnati.
While he received some criticism for that move, he knew exactly what he wanted to do: bring back one of the most popular and respected figures in Houston sports - the Glide.
When former women's basketball coach Jesse Kenlaw departed the university "to pursue other opportunities" Gladchuk set out to hire a person who knew Texas women's basketball.
Joe Curl, formerly of Stephen F. Austin State University, where he received conference coach of the year honors, was given the reins of a program decimated by injuries, suspensions and lack of interest in previous years.
The conference championships of golf, track, tennis, and volleyball as well as the possible baseball championship also proved that the Cougars are competitive in many different areas.
Gladchuk is especially impressed with these programs. "I am very pleased with those programs. We had two coach of the years and they did a marvelous job," he said.
The Cougars will have another sport to cheer as the women's soccer team will begin their first season of play with the University of Texas in September. The team, coached by Chris Huston, has already signed 12 players and is ready to go.
Gladchuk also brought next year's Cougar home games back to Robertson Stadium in order to bring back the virtually non-existent campus spirit.
The stadium will start renovations by adding luxury boxes.
"We have put together the luxury boxes for the upcoming year and we sold all of them," Gladchuk said.
Speaking of luxury boxes, Hofheinz Pavilion will start adding luxury boxes for next season, which no doubt will be sold before the first beam is laid.
Gladchuk has also said he wants to add a video screen to have playback for the fans.
"We have received positive feedback for the scoreboard system, which will allow us to add a four-sided replay board for the fans to come back to next season."
Needless to say, Gladchuk has done more for this university than his predecessors could have dreamed.
He says that he wants the fans to have a renewed interest in UH athletics.
Even with all the demands for Cougar tickets, Gladchuk says that tickets for all sports will still remain free for students, which will no doubt endear him to penniless college students.
Gladchuk, through all of this, has undoubtedly become a fan of Cougar athletics. His reinitiation of the Hall of Honor proves that he wants to include stars from the past with athletes of today.
His relationship with the alumni is also commendable. With the stature of prominent alumni in Houston such as John Moores and Bill Worrell, it is important to keep the tradition alive.
So although there is still much to achieve for this rebuilding university, in his short tenure with the Cougars Gladchuk has done at least an adequate job of attempting to achieve what many felt was an impossible task: returning UH athletics to the top of the college sporting world.