Leon Costello wanted to accept Waded Cruzado’s offer immediately. But Costello knew a move from Brookings to Bozeman would be a family decision.
Once Costello ran the prospect of moving from South Dakota State to Montana State by his wife and three kids, he hastily returned Cruzado’s call. Costello cared not that he had spoken with Montana State’s dynamic president just nine days earlier, the result of the conversation the news that Costello would not be MSU’s sixth athletic director. This call carried much more positive news, news that Costello in fact would be the next leader for Bobcat athletics.
On May 3, Montana State announced Kyle Brennan as its new athletic director. Brennan, an integral member of Utah AD Chris Hill’s staff for the last eight years, was introduced to about 200 at a press conference that afternoon.
Eight days later, Brennan informed Cruzado he was resigning from the position and returning to Utah. He cited housing costs and other financial concerns in moving to the Gallatin Valley despite a base salary of $185,000. The median household income in Bozeman is just shy of $45,000.
The morning of May 11, the news of Brennan’s resignation broke. Many wondered if any of the five finalists who materialized from a group of more than 65 applicants would remain in consideration. By that afternoon, Costello accepted the open position.
“I wanted to accept right there on the spot when (Cruzado) called,” Costello said in an interview with three members each of the print and broadcast media. “I had to talk to my wife and this is a family decision but I knew if I got the offer, I was going to say yes. I’ve always wanted to be an athletic director but I was at a great place. I could be picky with where I wanted to come and this is that place. I want to be here.”
Costello will replace outgoing AD Peter Fields. He is expected to begin work on June 15. Fields’ contract expires on June 30. Costello will make a base salary of $185,000.
Newly appointed Montana State athletic director Leon Costello/by Brooks Nuanez
Costello was officially introduced in front of a crowd of roughly 100 spectators, coaches and athletic department administrators at the Strand Union Building ballroom on the MSU campus Tuesday evening. Twenty days after committing to take the position, Costello made no comments about the last month in his speech. The first question he fielded in a brisk seven-minute session with the Montana media inquired about his thoughts on being the second choice. Costello said he could care less.
“I’ve had conversations with a lot of people about that (being the second choice) and I think President Cruzado said it the best: Things happen for a reason,” Costello said.
“I’m happy to be the second one. I’m happy the position I’m in.
A week after his hiring, Brennan resigned from the AD position and returned to his job as the deputy athletic direct at Utah. According to a Montana State press release, Brennan said his family was concerned about affordable housing, moving his children into the Bozeman school system and also added that “it didn’t feel right”, Cruzado said in the press release.
Hours later, Costello committed to become the first new MSU athletic director since Fields took the post in 2002. On Tuesday, Cruzado officially welcomed Costello, quoting UCLA Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach John Wooden in her introductory speech.
“A leader’s most powerful ally is his or her own example,’” Cruzado said. “Certainly, Leon Costello has set an example at each level in his life and career and we strongly believe he will continue this tradition here at MSU.”
During her introduction, Cruzado referenced the Fairbank, Iowa native’s experience as a men’s basketball player for the Loras Durhawks. She said Costello’s experience as a student-athlete should help him relate to the current Bobcat athletes because “he knows from experience the hard work it takes,” Cruzado said.
Costello’s basketball background has influenced his career. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physical education at Loras in 1998, Costello earned a master’s degree in sports management from Western Illinois. In 2003, he worked as a marketing director for WIU athletics.
He spent the next eight years working as an associate AD for external relations, then the marketing and promotions at Northern Iowa. While at UNI, Costello worked closely with the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
In 2010, Costello moved to South Dakota State, another athletic department that is a Missouri Valley Conference football power while also competing on a national level as a mid-major in men’s and women’s basketball.
Montana State men’s basketball coach Brian Fish coached in the Missouri Valley for nearly a decade during two stints on Dana Altman’s staff at Creighton (1994-96, 2004-2010). He knows former UNI and current Creighton coach Greg McDermott well. He also got to know former South Dakota State head coach Scott Nagy, who won 410 games including 200 since moving to Division I in 2004 in his 21 seasons at SDSu.
“I know some of his friends and coaches who have worked with him and he comes highly recommended,” said Fish, who will begin his third season next fall. “I view the Big Sky right now how the Missouri Valley was when we got to Creighton. I just think the Northern Iowas, the Creightons, the Wichita States, the SDSUs had the same game plans in building their programs as we do now. Knowing that (Costello) has seen that, that he’s done that and been a part of that excites me because that’s the game plan we need to follow to build the Big Sky and to build Montana State.”
Montana State ranked fourth in the FCS in attendance last season, averaging more than 19,000 fans in a stadium with a capacity of 17,777. Fish’s Bobcats ranked third in attendance in the Big Sky by drawing 2,644 fans per 12 home games. Weber State led the league with 6,785 fans per game while Montana was second with 3,955 fans per game.
“Every seat in that football stadium is full, every game has an environment,” Fish said. “Our biggest investment, our biggest chance to increase the money stream and revenue is in basketball. We need to figure out how to put 4,000 people in the stands for every basketball game. His expertise, he’s done it before at a level I’m very familiar with and that excites me.”
During Costello’s six years at SDSU, the Jackrabbits advanced to three NCCA Men’s Tournaments (2012, 2013, 2016). South Dakota State won a game in the 2015 NIT. The SDSU women beat TCU in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Women’s Tournament, the berths in every Big Dance except 2014 since then.
“We can learn from him,” said MSU 11th-year women’s basketball head coach Tricia Binford, last season’s Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year after leading MSU to its first outright league title in school history. “South Dakota State is a very high, prestigious winning program. One of our next steps in taking a Big Sky championship and going to the next level, going to an NCAA Tournament and being a consistent power in the conference. He knows how to get there.”
From the reconstruction of the east-side bleachers at Bobcat Stadium to the renovation of the D’Agostino weight room to the addition of an indoor practice facility, the Montana State football program has many areas in necessities. Jeff Choate has only been the head coach since December so he stopped short of saying what his team’s biggest needs are now that new leadership is in place. But he gave Costello a vote of confidence nonetheless.
“I thought his message was spot on,” Choate said. “He talked about the things that are important to us at Montana State. I’m looking forward to seeing how his vision plays out.”
In his role as deputy AD at SDSU, a position Costello held since 2014, he directed the implementation of the five-year strategic plan that helped the athletic department reach new heights. The plan resulted in record revenues, specifically in ticket sales, annual giving and sponsorships.
On the fundraising front, Costello assisted in raising more than $57 million over the last four years for capital projects, including both the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, which opened in fall 2014, and for Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, which opens this fall.
During his on-campus interview as a finalist, Costello talked about the necessity of carrying over his fundraising success from SDSU to MSU. On Tuesday, he reemphasized the need, particularly to find big-money boosters like the ones that support the Jackrabbits.
“I’ve heard it from the coaches and a big part of our strategic plan will be facilities improvements,” Costello said. “After that, it’s our academics and how can we raise more money to improve the quality of life not only for our student-athletes but for our staff as well? How can we grow this thing as a team together? What that will bring us timely communication?
“At South Dakota State, we have passionate fans but we are very young as a Division I program. This is a Division I program I’m walking in to and a very, very passionate fan base. I just have to go out and listen and learn and see what makes some of our donors tick. One thing that is so important is donor intent. We have to make sure their intent matches our vision of what we want to do. If those two things align, great things can happen.”
For more than a week, Costello figured he would continue to forge ahead as South Dakota State continues to impress as one of the most rapidly ascending athletic departments in Division I. Less than a month later, Costello will have a chance to carry the momentum of that success at Montana State.
“We’re going to win, we’re going to win big, we’re going to win championships,” he said.
