Wednesday, December 10, 2008
An avid sports fan, Chancellor Robert Hemenway couldn’t help but add a few of the University’s athletic accomplishments to the list of his proudest moments during his 14-year tenure that will come to an end on June 30.
Hemenway’s list of achievements is long but is sure to include the Jayhawks’ 2008 NCAAMen’s Basketball Championship and the Orange Bowl victory against Virginia Tech.
After all, it’s Hemenway who hired the architect of last year’s historic season, Athletics Director Lew Perkins.
“Chancellor Hemenway’s commitment and vision was a key inspiration in my choice to come to Kansas,” Perkins said. “The chancellor has been very supportive of the Kansas athletics program, recognizing the value of intercollegiate athletics to KU but always in the context of education, integrity and NCAA compliance.”
Hemenway will step down, fittingly, to write a book on college athletics and American values, but his stamp on the athletics program will be substantial. During his time, he led initiatives that gave more than $100 million for renovations and additions to athletics department facilities.
“I hate to see him go,” coach Bill Self said on his weekly radio show. “But I’m happy for him since this is what he wants to do. He’s been very supportive to me personally and our entire athletic program since we’ve been here. When you look at Kansas Athletics, he’s played a major role in the improvements made.”
Hemenway arrived at Kansas in 1994 from the University of Kentucky but didn’t make his mark on Kansas athletics until recently. After staying out of most athletics department decisions, in 2003 he jumped in and fired then-Athletics Director Al Bohl, hiring Perkins in his place.
Chuck Woodling, former sports editor of the Lawrence Journal-World, said the timing of Hemenway’s decision to insert himself into athletics department dealings made sense.
“I think being the head of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors might have been an eye-opener for him,” Woodling said. “It brought him closer to the athletics scene.”
And what Hemenway saw while leading the board from 2002-2005 was that schools needed strong athletics programs to succeed on the academic side as well. He identified Perkins as the right man for the job and pulled him away from Connecticut, turning Kansas Athletics into a national powerhouse.
Woodling said the verdict was still out on Hemenway’s legacy at Kansas but that “winning the national basketball title and the Orange Bowl sure make everything look good.”
In addition to Hemenway’s support and dedication of school funds to the athletics department, he has had a personal commitment to the department as well. He attends almost all home football and basketball games and waits in the press conference room with Perkins to greet football coach Mark Mangino after every game.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Chancellor Hemenway,” Perkins said. “I feel privileged that I can count him as a friend.”
— — Edited by Scott R. Toland
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