One year on job, Livengood bullish on program goals

Jim Livengood, who has been UNLV’s athletic director for nearly a year, has made mostly subtle changes to the athletic department as well as the working relationship between athletics and the Thomas & Mack Center.

But all subtlety disappears when Livengood provides his vision for the department. He, instead, placed a large target on the athletic department this fall by establishing in writing goals for the academic year.

They are lofty aims, and unreachable in some cases.

"There are a number of those goals I think are a bit too aggressive," Livengood acknowledged. "But I’d rather strive for it and actually have it be a goal than have it something that is easily met, and then we pat ourselves on the back and say, ‘Boy, didn’t we do a good job,’ when we’ve really done nothing."

UNLV has set goals in nine areas, from academics to compliance to finances, and the most ambitious are in the department’s front door to the public — the on-field and on-court competition.

Those goals: Place 14 of 17 teams in the postseason, win four conference team championships, capture a team national title and place in the top 60 in the Directors’ Cup for overall excellence.

The first goal already has been missed, and the other three will be difficult to meet. UNLV failed to make the postseason in football, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball.

The Rebels’ hopes for four conference championships are possible — though only men’s swimming and diving captured a title last season — but the Directors’ Cup target isn’t as likely given UNLV tied Akron for 86th last academic year.

The Rebels’ last national championship in any sport occurred in 1998 when men’s golf won it all. The 1990 men’s basketball team won the only other NCAA title in school history.

Livengood, however, said the only way to establish competitive success was to set high goals, which not only increases expectations but creates urgency. The Rebels could fail to meet any of those four competition goals, but still move the program forward by faring better than in recent years.

Other notable goals include at least half of the athletes achieving a semester 3.0 grade-point average and raising $9 million through the Rebel Athletic Fund.

Livengood said when the fiscal year ends June 30, the department will show which goals were and weren’t met.

"It will be very transparent," he said.

Even though Livengood is attempting to set an aggressive tone, these are trying times for UNLV’s athletic department, given the dire state and national economy. UNLV is on target to meet its $25 million budget, but the football team’s 2-11 season didn’t help in producing the revenue that would make reaching that number easier.

The early success of the men’s basketball team, which is 8-0 and ranked 20th, is a huge boost, however.

But the state Legislature could institute further cuts early next year, which would force the department to consider more belt-tightening.

"We don’t know to what level yet," Livengood said of expected state action. "That’s another reason why athletics needs to become self-sufficient. We can control some of our own destiny."

Though other schools have reduced support for some sports, such as playing regional rather than national schedules, Livengood said that’s not the route UNLV would take.

"You’re much better served if you’re going to have a program, operate it to the best of your ability," he said.

Livengood has reorganized the athletic department some, most notably hiring Julio Freire and Jay Vickers to oversee development. Both were at Arizona, where Livengood was athletic director for more than 15 years before leaving for UNLV last December.

Livengood also has designed an organizational chart allowing for more upward mobility, thus creating a more aggressive work environment in which employees are given incentive to try to advance their careers.

And Livengood has instituted a more integral working relationship with the Thomas & Mack, which already was under the athletic department’s umbrella. Instead of simply reporting to athletics, the Thomas & Mack works more closely with the department in areas such as marketing for that venue as well as Sam Boyd Stadium and Cox Pavilion.

But Livengood isn’t replacing the spot previously held by Thomas & Mack director Daren Libonati, who left in August to work for Justice Entertainment Group. JEG works on a contractual basis with UNLV, with Libonati mostly handling the same responsibilities as before, but without reporting daily to the Thomas & Mack.

"It allows the consistency and integrity of how the Thomas & Mack events operate," Libonati said. "Our clients using the building know nothing has changed."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.