Christian Spears spent a weekend in Bozeman 14 years ago in the midst of a cross-country road trip that ended in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Harvard University. As he entered the Gallatin Valley, the beauty took his breath away.
“After spending the weekend here on our way to Harvard for my first job as a college administrator, I said to my wife, ‘Imagine coming back to this place as the athletic director,’” Spears said.
Back in 2002, Spears had just graduated with a law degree from Ohio State. He and his wife, Dr. Julia Spears, drove from Columbus to Spears’ native Seattle to drop some things at his parents home before heading to Harvard for Spears’ first job in athletic adminstration. On the way back across the country, the couple stopped in Bozeman. Spears vividly remembers having lunch at the iconic Pickle Barrel sandwich shop on College Street. The couple stayed in a cheap motel off I-90.
Eastern Michigan Deputy Athletic Director Christian Spears
“It was a great weekend that stayed with me forever,” Spears said. “Here we are 14 years later with an opportunity to make it a reality.”
Spears, who currently is in his second year as the Deputy Athletics Director at Eastern Michigan, is one of five finalists for Montana State’s vacant athletic director position. Wyoming Deputy AD Matt Whisenant interviewed on Monday. Utah Deputy AD Kyle Brennan interviewed on Tuesday. The final two candidates will interview on campus on Thursday and Friday.
“I had some of my own expectations before getting here but then I talk to a donor group and hear they expect to be the premier institution in the state of Montana and you talk to a President who expects to be THE premier FCS program in the nation,” Spears said. “Then you talk to students who are having the best time of their young lives. That’s a place you want to be a part of.”
Peter Fields has served as Montana State’s AD since 2002. Earlier this year, MSU President Waded Cruzado announced Fields’ contract would not be renewed upon its expiration on June 30.
Montana State is paying Parker Executive Search to assist in the process of replacing Fields. The cost is $60,000. Although Spears has always kept Bozeman in the back of his mind, he did not know about the opening until Parker recommended Spears to MSU Search Committee chairman Terry Leist.
“I’ve always had a theory about full circle. When you are on the tail end of full circle, you are going to be successful,” Spears said.
In his two years in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Spears has overseen external operations including development, marketing, corporate partnership efforts, fan experience and media relations. He is also the leader for groups creating strategies to increase ticket sales, merchandise and other revenue streams. Spears assists with the administration of the football program and is responsible for football scheduling.
Spears, who earned his undergrad at Washington and his master’s at Long Beach State, spent 2008 until 2014 at Northern Illinois. He spent the six years prior to that at Southern Illinois, an FCS member who plays in the Missouri Valley Conference in football. He worked directly with Jerry Kill, at one time a finalist for Montana State’s head coaching vacancy before Fields hired Rob Ash in 2007.
Eastern Michigan Deputy Athletic Director Christian Spears
Kill instead stayed at SIU for the 2007 season and took the Salukis to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs. SIU went 12-2 overall, bringing Kill’s win total at SIU to 55. In 2008, Kill earned the head coaching job at Northern Illinois, laying the foundation for unprecedented heights in three seasons. In 2010, UNI went 10-3, including 8-0 in the Mid-American Conference. The success landed Kill in the Big Ten as the head coach at Minnesota. Two years later, Dave Doern, who played and coached for Ash at Drake, took Northern Illinois to a 12-2 mark and a bid in the Orange Bowl with the help of plenty of Kill’s recruits.
When Kill moved from SIU to UNI, he brought Spears with him. For seven years, including three with Kill, Spears served as Deputy AD and sports administrator for the football team.
“The reason that level is so special is you are more closely connected to the academic community,” Spears said in an interview with three members of the Montana print media. “There isn’t this, ‘Why does football have this? Why does basketball have this? There’s 63 scholarships at this level, not 85. The perceived drain isn’t there. You have 105 kids and 50-plus may be paying their own way. That’s a real commitment to the university, the experience, wanting to be a part of that school and it breaks down those walls and it makes people feel more invested in the program.”
Following the Orange Bowl bid, NIU athletic director Jeff Compher jumped ship to East Carolina. For the next five months, Spears served as UNI’s interim athletic director while the school conducted a national search. Sean Frazier took over as the UNI AD later in 2013. Spears moved to EMU to work for Heather Lyke, the first woman athletic director in Eastern Michigan history and the associate athletic director for sport administration at Ohio State from 2002 to 2012 where she first crossed paths with Spears.
Eastern Michigan has been awash in hardship as of late. Last week, the faculty union and student government of EMU urged the university to drop Division I football. The report presented to the Board of Regents, the students and faculty suggested that the team should compete in Division II or Division III. EMU athletics operated on a $33.9 million last academic year, $27 million of which (80 percent) came from institutional support.
“To have faculty members say we should do something, to hear them out, understand it, listen to it, it makes you appreciate what you do that much more,” Spears said. “I’m all for the debate and the dialogue because I feel like we have an unbelievable story to tell about the value of college athletics and the value of Division I football. For Eastern, the pendulum has swung the other way.”
Eastern Michigan Deputy Athletic Director Christian Spears
On Wednesday, the Detroit Free Press reported on an open letter sent Tuesday to the campus community stating that the school had no plan to drop football or move divisions.
“We have absolutely no plans to eliminate football or move into any other division or conference,” the letter said. “We are pleased to be a member of an outstanding conference, the Mid-American Conference, where all of our sports and our talented student athletes have the opportunity to compete at the highest levels with neighboring institutions in the Midwest.”
Each of the first three finalists have spoken of specific facility upgrades and fundraising goals. Cruzado’s office has made it clear raising money will be a key element of the job. Spears seemed to understand the challenges unique to the Treasure State.
“We have to tell our story when we are trying to raise money because I don’t know if everyone knows how it actually works when it relates to completing projects,” Spears said. “If it’s not from a ticket sold or a fundraised dollar, you can’t build a facility that is dedicated to athletics. You can’t use tuition and fees, you can’t use a fee referendum. The state of Montana doesn’t allow that. That’s a unique dynamic.
“So fundraising or selling more tickets becomes the be all, end all. We have to get crazy aggressive with that. We have to tell people this is the situation we are in and we are going to need your help to get things done and show them why they are so important. There is an expectation here to be the premier FCS institution in the nation.”
Spears specifically talked about a goal of building an indoor practice facility. He said such a building would not only benefit the football team but the entire community and mentioned potentially partnering with city to turn it into a multi-purpose benefit. He also specifically talked about the caliber of student MSU is attracting to campus and the need for an academic center.
Spears met with nearly 100 people during his time on campus on Monday. He met with administrators and student athletes and coaches, although Brian Fish was not one of them. MSU’s head coach left on a recruiting trip on Wednesday morning.
Spears brought a noticeable energy to the public meet and greet. He said he felt the same energy in Choate. He said the thorough process
Eastern Michigan Deputy Athletic Director Christian Spears
Montana State tested him with Wednesday impressed him.
“The most surprising thing was the number of people who are genuinely invested in the person who is coming in,” Spears said. “I met with almost 100 people today. I’ve never been a part of an interview process where I had 100 individual group meetings. I’ve hired a lot of head coaches and I’ve never had them meet with 100 people. In this community, you probably have to do that because they want to know the person that is going to lead them.
“People love Montana State, they love this football program, they love Bozeman,” Spears said. “To be able to come into an athletic department and a community that is already like that and you don’t have to capture and create and find ways and initiatives to do it, what an unbelievable opportunity.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
