University of Minnesota Athletics
Maturi Named Finalist For Athletic Director
7/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
"Joel Maturi encompasses everything the university needs in an athletics director," said search committee chair Mary Jo Kane. "He has extensive experience and success running large departments with complex budgets. He has a demonstrated commitment to academic excellence, gender equity and the highest caliber of athletic competition. Joel is a perfect fit for the job."
Maturi, a Chisholm, Minn., native, has been at Miami University since 1998, where he is responsible for budgets, policies and procedures for 19 men's and women's programs with more than 600 student athletes. During his tenure, Miami University teams did well academically and competitively--last year, 12 teams earned grade point averages of 3.0 or better and the university finished third out of 13 teams in combined competition in the Mid-America Conference.
Prior to working at Miami University, Maturi was director of athletics at the University of Denver (1996-1998), where he improved budgeting and financial management, a gender-equity plan and a NCAA compliance manual. Before that, he was associate senior director of athletics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he had direct responsibility for all aspects of football, ice hockey, wrestling, softball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's crew, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and the office of academic affairs.
University of Minnesota President Mark Yudof expressed enthusiasm about Maturi. "From all that I know, Joel has the experience and skills we need--he's a strong manager with a track record of competitive, administrative and academic accomplishment," he said. "I look forward to interviewing this outstanding candidate and soliciting feedback about him from both the university and broader communities in the next few days."
Tonya Moten Brown, vice president and chief of staff, applauded the work of the search committee. "First, let me thank the search committee," she said. "We set an aggressive timeline for them and they met it. They worked diligently and provided a great service to the university."
Early next week, Maturi will interview with stakeholders at the university and community, including athletics department coaches and staff; student athletes; university faculty and staff; and supporters of Gopher athletics.
Yudof said he hopes to name the new athletics director as soon as possible.
