2008 Woodie Awards
Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 11/5/07 Section: Sports
What's on the Athletic Director's mind?
Andrew Scurria and Sebastien Angel
Eastward expansion may be a top priority for Penn's Athletic Director, but there's more to Steve Bilsky's job than planning for the future. On Friday, he sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to talk about what's on his mind right now.
Daily Pennsylvanian: Given what could possibly be a third straight losing season, are you concerned about the welfare of the football program?
Steve Bilsky: I'm disappointed, because I think having a winning football program is not just important to us; I think it's important to the campus. I think people like having a winning football program, and we've gotten used to that over a long period of time. It generates enthusiasm and it makes alumni feel good, and so therefore I'd much rather be on top than in the middle.
I can just tell you that from my standpoint, coach [Al] Bagnoli works as hard today as he did 15 years ago. Believe me, as disappointed as everybody else is, he spends more time being disappinted than anybody else. If the average person wakes up once a night wondering what's happening to Penn Football, he's probably not sleeping at all. So we're fortunate that he's the guy in charge. If anyone can figure it out and get it turned around, he's definitely the guy to do that.
DP: Has the amount of staff turnover been a concern?
SB: There really hasn't been a lot of staff turnover based on the success we've had. Usually when you have success, your assistants get plucked left and right. Look at basketball as an example. Going back 40 years, being an assistant at Penn almost guaranteed being a head coach in the foreseeable future. But most of our staff has been in place.
Where we've had the most significant turnover has been on the offensive-coordinator end. And to have three in three years … you want stability, and you want guys to get used to the system. And without trying to look for reasons and so forth, that would be one that would jump out from a standpoint of players trying to learn a new system. Usually it takes a year or two for players to learn.
Daily Pennsylvanian: Given what could possibly be a third straight losing season, are you concerned about the welfare of the football program?
Steve Bilsky: I'm disappointed, because I think having a winning football program is not just important to us; I think it's important to the campus. I think people like having a winning football program, and we've gotten used to that over a long period of time. It generates enthusiasm and it makes alumni feel good, and so therefore I'd much rather be on top than in the middle.
I can just tell you that from my standpoint, coach [Al] Bagnoli works as hard today as he did 15 years ago. Believe me, as disappointed as everybody else is, he spends more time being disappinted than anybody else. If the average person wakes up once a night wondering what's happening to Penn Football, he's probably not sleeping at all. So we're fortunate that he's the guy in charge. If anyone can figure it out and get it turned around, he's definitely the guy to do that.
DP: Has the amount of staff turnover been a concern?
SB: There really hasn't been a lot of staff turnover based on the success we've had. Usually when you have success, your assistants get plucked left and right. Look at basketball as an example. Going back 40 years, being an assistant at Penn almost guaranteed being a head coach in the foreseeable future. But most of our staff has been in place.
Where we've had the most significant turnover has been on the offensive-coordinator end. And to have three in three years … you want stability, and you want guys to get used to the system. And without trying to look for reasons and so forth, that would be one that would jump out from a standpoint of players trying to learn a new system. Usually it takes a year or two for players to learn.
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