Ferdinand "Andy" Geiger (born March 23, 1939) is a former athletic director at six different institutions, most recently holding that position from May 10, 2012, to August 30, 2013, at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
. His most notable time as an athletic director was when he spent 11 years at the helm of the largest athletic department in the US at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
, during some of which time he was flanked by controversy over various dealings regarding the former OSU running back, Maurice Clarett.
Biography
A native of
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
, Geiger graduated from
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
in 1961 and was a member of the crew team as an undergraduate. He also was a member of the US squad that won a gold medal in the
1959 Pan American Games
The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959.
Host city selection
One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan Ame ...
.
After graduation, Geiger accepted the job of freshman rowing coach at
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
in 1961. His first administrative role was as an assistant athletics director at his ''alma mater'' in 1964. He left Syracuse in 1970 to become assistant commissioner of the
Eastern College Athletic Conference
The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fro ...
.
In 1971, at age 32, Geiger became athletics director at
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
. He held that position until 1975, when he moved to the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
in a similar capacity.
Geiger accepted the head athletics position at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in 1979. During his 11-year stay at the Pac-10 school, Stanford won a total of 27 national championships and was considered one of the leading programs in intercollegiate athletics.
In 1990, Geiger left Stanford to take over a Maryland program that was on NCAA probation. He spent a little more than three years at Maryland, working to return the athletics department to stability.
On April 29, 1994, Geiger was named athletic director at Ohio State. He officially assumed the position on May 16, 1994, succeeding the former NACDA president Jim Jones.
Geiger's enduring legacy in Columbus was a building program, sometimes referred to as "Andy-land", that resulted in a number of new athletic facilities on campus, most notably the 4,450-seat
Bill Davis Stadium
Bill Davis Stadium is a baseball venue located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The stadium is home to the Ohio State Buckeyes baseball team of the Big Ten Conference and is named for William C. "Bill" Davis, a businessman and Ohio State alumn ...
for baseball, the 10,000-seat
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium is a 10,000-capacity stadium located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The stadium is home of the Ohio State Buckeyes men's and women's lacrosse teams as well as the soccer and track and field teams. The stadium open ...
for track, soccer and lacrosse and the 19,200-seat
Schottenstein Center
Value City Arena is a multi-purpose arena, located on the campus of Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The arena opened in 1998 and is currently the largest by seating capacity in the Big Ten Conference, with 19,049 seats, wh ...
for basketball and hockey as well as a $194 million renovation and expansion of
Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencement c ...
in 1999 and 2000. The resulting debt service on "the Schott" was so burdensome that operation of the building was eventually transferred to the Office of Student Life which was in a better position to service the debt.
Geiger hired both
Jim Tressel
James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American college football coach and university administrator who is currently the president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the ...
and
Thad Matta
Thad Michael Matta (born July 11, 1967) is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team. From 2004 to 2017, Matta led the Ohio State Buckeyes to five Big Ten Conference regular seas ...
as the head coaches to the American football team and men's basketball team respectively.
Controversy
As a result of his decision in 2003 to end
Maurice Clarett
Maurice Edward Clarett (born October 29, 1983) is a former American football running back who played for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. He also played professionally for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. During his fr ...
's football scholarship because of alleged violations of the amateur clause, Geiger was widely criticized.
Jim Brown
James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...
came to Clarett's defense. Brown went as far as to refer to Geiger as a "slave master".
On January 1, 2005, it was announced that Geiger would retire as athletic director with effect from June 30, 2005, and would remain with the university until June 2006. Geiger was an honorary captain for the Buckeyes for their September 15, 2007, game when they visited the
Washington Huskies
The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...
.
Geiger was announced as athletic director at the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...
on May 10, 2012. He became the third athletic director there within a two-year span, succeeding Rick Costello who resigned in April 2012. He was succeeded by Amanda Braun in 2013.
Geiger received the 2009 Homer Rice Award, presented by the Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association, the NACDA FBS Athletics Director of the Year Award for the Northeast Region in 2004, as well as the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame's John L. Toner Award and the Sports Business Journal Athletics Director of the Year Award,
both in 2003.
References
External links
Andy Geiger: An Oral History Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geiger, Andy
1939 births
Living people
Brown Bears athletic directors
Dartmouth Big Green rowing coaches
Maryland Terrapins athletic directors
Milwaukee Panthers athletic directors
Ohio State Buckeyes athletic directors
Penn Quakers athletic directors
Stanford Cardinal athletic directors
Syracuse Orange rowers
Sportspeople from Syracuse, New York