TCU’s Ukaegbu to take part in NCAA’s Pathway Program, which grooms future ADs
Ike Ukaegbu is taking another step toward his dream of running an athletic department one day.
Ukaegbu (pronounced ooo-Kay-boo), TCU’s senior associate athletic director for compliance, will be one of 20 participants in the NCAA’s Pathway Program in the upcoming school year. More than 25% of the program’s alumni have gone on to become athletic directors or conference commissioners, including six of the 20 who participated last year.
“An opportunity like this is going to expose me to other aspects of athletics outside of compliance,” said Ukaegbu, who has been at TCU since May 2014. “It’ll help me immensely to hopefully get that opportunity to become an athletic director. I’m grateful and excited to participate in the program.”
The program is designed to prepare senior-level administrators to become athletic directors and conference commissioners. The participants are selected by groups to promote cultural diversity and equity.
Ukaegbu, 35, is the only representative from the Big 12. Angela Marin, the associate athletic director for compliance and senior woman administrator at UT-Dallas, is also part of the program.
The Big 12 does not have a minority or female athletic director at any of its 10 schools. But Ukaegbu is hopeful that will change in the coming years. There are a number of successful minority ADs across the country, headlined by one of the most respected college sports administrators in Ohio State’s Gene Smith.
“Ultimately, I think you should hire the person most qualified for the position,” Ukaegbu said. “However, I do think there does need to be more minority and female ADs in Division I athletics.”
Ukaegbu is building a strong resume to be on short lists for schools looking for an AD in the near future. TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati sees an “unlimited ceiling” for Ukaegbu in the college sports world.
“Ike has the perfect combination of work ethic, intelligence, personality and common sense,” Donati said. “It has been so gratifying to watch him emerge as a leader in our department and across campus.”
Before landing at TCU, Ukaegbu had stops at VCU, Boise State, Cal State Fullerton and American University. Since joining TCU’s staff, he’s made a favorable impression throughout the department.
Baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle called him a “rock star” and future athletic director. Assistant soccer coach Ryan Higginbotham described Ukaegbu as a great choice for the program.
Asked about TCU’s coaches showing support, Ukaegbu said: “It means a lot because part of our job involves giving bad news. But my office prides itself on doing everything with respect. We understand the pressure the coaches and staffs are under in this environment. It’s not us against them. We’re here to try to protect them. We want to educate them and help them as much as possible. That’s one of the things I’m most proud of is being able to maintain strong relationships with the coaches.”
Ukaegbu helped the athletic department work through its self-reported violations of student-athletes being paid for work they didn’t do as campus summer employees.
The school reported those violations to the NCAA in June 2018 and four programs — football, men’s and women’s basketball and swimming and diving — are now on probation. The men’s basketball program is facing additional sanctions, too, stemming from former assistant Corey Barker being linked to the FBI probe into college basketball corruption.
The ability to navigate such situations is preparing Ukaegbu for the next step in his career. Having a compliance background is beneficial to running an athletic program; one of Ukaegbu’s mentors, John Cunningham, became Cincinnati’s athletic director in December.
Ukaegbu could position himself for a similar opportunity. In the Pathway Program, “participants engage in a series of experiential learning opportunities focused on advancing them to the top role in an athletics department or conference, while building their skills to thrive in their current duties,” according to a description in a news release.
“I’ve seen college athletics operate at a D-I Triple A level, a D-I Group of Five level, and a D-I Power Five level,” Ukaegbu said. “The experience at the lower levels have been valuable because there’s not as much staff, not as much resources, so you’re doing more than your job description on a daily basis. Even at TCU, a Power Five institution with resources, we still operate as all hands on deck. I love that.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 4:58 PM.
