COLUMN: Mark Jackson paired actions with words - he has to follow through to protect Northwestern athletes
EVANSTON, Ill. - A phrase I keep in my mind when covering coaching changes or the passing of one regime to the next is how "the more things change, the more they stay the same."
Time passes, the players shift but power and authority will always find a place to rest their head.
Northwestern president Michael Schill is the person whose authority will carry the most weight. It meant something when he went out of his way to say what needed to be said last week.
When NU was searching for its next director of athletics, its priority would be the safety of its student athletes.
For a university that’s consistently looked to its past icons, hiring Mark Jackson as its next AD is a step in that right direction in regard to that priority.
"Our job is not to sort of shake our heads and be nostalgic about the past," Schill said, "but, to put ourselves in a position where we can think strategically about the future."
Not only does Jackson understand that safety, but he knows he can’t just say words. Actions needs to follow those words. Especially how Northwestern has taken different steps to its healing process in the past year.
The hazing scandal that rocked the university left a scar with pain that’s still being felt a year later, and will be felt for years to come. It’s not something that’s helped by ignoring it. NU made changes.
Former director of athletics Derrick Gragg was re-assigned, something president Schill alluded to being a mutual decision.
"Given Dr. Gragg's history, his knowledge of intercollegiate athletics, his time in the NCAA, we both felt that we could use some extra brain power in thinking about the future strategically," Schill said. "That is the reason why Derek and I decided this would be a great position to bring."
However, you feel about Gragg’s tenure, it’s over, and he now works a position that reports to Schill but does not intersect with Jackson at all.
Schill mentioned this is because answering to or working with a guy who used to have the job you just got is something no one wants. He’s right, and besides, Jackson deserves the autonomy to run the athletic department how he wants.
The one thing I wanted to ask Jackson was the same thing I asked NU head football coach David Braun at Big Ten Media Days.
What steps are you going to take to ensure the hazing scandal, or anything like it, does not happen again at this university?
Braun, at Big Ten Media Days, didn’t really have an answer. Jackson, at his introduction this past week, gave a view into what he can tangibly do to protect the student athletes he leads.
"Education is going to be something first and foremost in front of the student athletes to let them know how much the importance of the uncompromising principle of treating each other well, right?" Jackson said. "Part of that is going to take a look at our organizational chart and the way we oversee each and every program."
How Northwestern swayed Mark Jackson from Villanova, and to be its new athletic director
It took a lot to woo Mark Jackson to Evanston, especially considering he had no desire to leave Villanova. Here's how NU did it:
To Jackson, part of prioritizing safety is oversight.
That starts with understanding each program under his purview. After that, Jackson said he wants personal oversight within those programs.
"The challenges are different, one's not bigger or more important than the other, but each program I think, requires nuances," Jackson said. "My approach with sport administration is that we want somebody immersed in that program to work with the head coach – whether that's fundraising, whether it's the compliance, whether it's safety, the academic piece – I want our administrators in the weeds and connected to each and every program."
That’s not an easy task, but Jackson is better suited to do it than most. He’s not from Evanston, nor does he have a connection to Northwestern. After this past year, that’s exactly what NU needs.
Jackson doesn’t just represent a clean slate, he represents someone who understands modern-day college athletics.
Northwestern still has to finish building Ryan Field from the ground up, has a softball field project on its to-do list and will eventually have more projects to come.
His job isn't an easy one.
He needs to balance healing past wounds with pushing the program forward. I don't envy it a bit.
Jackson can't move past those past wounds entirely. Forgetting history is a way to ensure it repeats itself. That's why it's encouraging to hear him discuss how he wants to prevent further pain.
Getting that done lies in one of Jackson's four "F" approaches – Family, Fun, Friendship and Faith.
"Faith is not religious in this sense," Jackson said, "but faith is an attitude and approach and a positive outlook on the way we're approaching things, especially now with all this change coming."
Change is here. Jackson needs to follow through on his words.