Incoming interim Athletic Director Bob Ceplikas '78 said on Monday that he is looking forward to working with College President-elect Jim Yong Kim, particularly because of the next president's history on the gridiron.
"One of the best parts of this opportunity for me is getting the chance to be the first athletic director to work with Dr. Kim," Ceplikas said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "The fact that he has an athletic background as well, and has publicly expressed support for our department is very exciting."
Communicating directly with the new president will be one of Ceplikas' chief duties as acting AD, he said.
"I certainly intend to be an aggressive advocate for our student-athletes, and I've agreed for many years that it would be a good idea to have our Ivy football teams eligible for the NCAA playoffs," Ceplikas said. "But I also know and respect that ultimately the presidents have the final call, so I'll be very interested to see what Dr. Kim's feelings are."
The eight Ivy League presidents have the power to vote on changes to the league's rules. The postseason formats for sports such as football and basketball have become points of discussion around the Ivy League.
After Dean of the College Tom Crady announced that he would be selecting an internal candidate for the interim position, Ceplikas seemed a likely choice.
The graduate of the Class of 1978 has worked in both athletics and admissions at Dartmouth for 30 years.
Ceplikas said he will be primarily concerned with managing the athletic department during difficult financial times while President-elect Kim is involved in a national search for a permanent successor.
"Whether we like it or not, our first priority has to be dealing with the economic crises in the best way that we possibly can," he said. "We want to do everything we can to find creative, more efficient ways of doing things so that the impact on the student-athlete experience is absolutely minimal."
Ceplikas said that he was unsure if he would apply for the position of permanent athletic director.
"Right now I'm just focusing on next year," he said, laughing. "I figure I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
When it comes down to specific duties next fall, Ceplikas already has some expectations in place.
He said that the athletic department is currently investigating possible changes to the Dartmouth football team's schedule, which could include the removal of the team's traditional in-state rivalry game versus the University of New Hampshire.
"Brian Austin, who oversees all of our varsity programs, has been working very hard on potential modifications to our football schedule," Ceplikas said. "We're hoping to have something to announce within the next few weeks."
After the disappointing 2008 campaign, Ceplikas said he still retains faith in the Dartmouth football program and confidence in head coach Buddy Teevens '79.
"I honestly believe that the foundation is being very soundly built right now for a winning program," he said.
According to Ceplikas, a winning season for Dartmouth football will be contingent on the gradual growth of Teevens' latest recruiting classes, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines.
"Coach Teevens readily admits that his first two years of recruiting were not as successful as he hoped they would be," Ceplikas said. "By all indications, he and his staff are putting the finishing touches on a third-straight, very strong recruiting class."
Ceplikas explained that one of the past issues with this fall's team was a very young set of lineman. Ceplikas said he is sure that time and growth in enhanced strength and conditioning programs will lead to a more successful team.
"One of the reasons that we place so much emphasis on strength and conditioning is because its absolutely critical to take that raw talent that comes in freshman year and make sure that they're bigger and stronger and ready to have an impact their junior year," he said.
"At those positions," Ceplikas said. "It's especially crucial."
Ceplikas said he finds himself taking over a Dartmouth program with high hopes for its teams.
"The success of both basketball and both hockey teams this winter bodes very well for the future," he said. "We've got a lot of very talented young players, and I think it indicates that not only do we have very good coaching staffs in place in many of our sports, but we're starting to reap the benefits of some of the great facility improvements that are really helping recruiting."
Both the women's basketball and hockey teams won their respective conference championships this winter, while the men's basketball team contended for the top spot in the league this season for the first time in nearly a decade.
The men's hockey team also had a successful year before its season was cut short by a pair of losses in the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs.
