Rice AD Bobby May Announces Retirement

[MrMustang1965]

from the Houston Chronicle:

Bobby May's 45-year relationship with his alma mater came to an emotional end today when he announced his retirement as Rice athletic director.

May spent five years preparing for this moment, but needed additional time to gather his thoughts at Tuesday's announcement. He sighed and retreated from the podium before beginning his remarks.

"That's not a very good start, I'm afraid," May said, fighting back tears. "This is a big day for me, an important day, one that when I started thinking about doing this and actually making this appearance, I began to get a little nervous about what's actually happening. Just maintaining your composure is not easy for me, but I'm going to forge forward."

May, 62, will remain AD through June before leaving president David Leebron and the board of trustees the task of finding a successor.

"There is the question of whether we're going to launch a search with the idea of having somebody for the fall or whether we're going to appoint an interim director," Leebron said. "We just have to reflect on that a little bit. I would assume that in a couple of weeks we'll probably have a good sense of which of those paths we're going to pursue. He's going to be a tough act to follow."

The athletic department was in dire straits when May took over in 1989. May, who graduated cum laude from Rice in 1965 and returned as an assistant track coach and assistant business manager two years later, longed for the opportunity to steer the Owls through those moribund times. By 1984, he had ascended to associate athletic director and into position for a promotion.

"I desperately wanted the AD job in 1989 because things were really bleak," May said. "There were elements of despair and resignation — a feeling that Rice simply could not compete at the Division I level in the Southwest Conference. There was ample evidence of that: 24 straight losing seasons in football; no championships in any sport since 1971. But I knew we could win, and wanted the opportunity to show everyone I was right."

May's first hire, Fred Goldsmith, led the football program to a 6-5 record in 1992. In 1994, Ken Hatfield guided the football team to a share of the SWC title, the first of four conference titles the Owls won that year. May oversaw 32 conference championships during his watch, and eased Rice through uneasy transitions into the Western Athletic Conference following the dismantling of the SWC and Conference USA last summer.

May took Rice to unprecedented athletic heights while also improving the performance of its student-athletes. In 2002, Rice received the NCAA Academic Achievement Award for maintaining the top student-athlete graduation rate in the nation. That same school year, Rice claimed its first team national championship when its baseball program won the 2003 title.

"You've really got to wonder if it wasn't for Bobby as the athletic director, what would have happened," said Rice women's track coach Jim Bevan, who was in his third year as an assistant to Victor Lopez when May took over. "I don't know if I would be here today and I don't know if Rice athletics would be here today if it wasn't for Bobby May."

May began to contemplate his retirement roughly five years ago, but wanted to exit with the athletic department moving forward. He had orchestrated facility improvements throughout the department, but the last hurdle was football, which for years appeared to be dying on the vine.The hiring of Todd Graham on Jan. 1 and Graham's subsequent success at raising funds for renovations to Rice Stadium appear to be steps in the right direction.

"I'll be forever indebted to him for taking a chance on a no-name guy from Tulsa," Graham said. "The thing that makes me feel great is how proud he is of hiring me. I'm honored by that. We'll make him proud."