Culture & Continuity With Ohio’s Julie Cromer

Guest Julie Cromer, Ohio

27:54 min watch

Summary

Ohio Director of Athletics Julie Cromer sits down with ADU’s Steph Garcia Cichosz at the 2025 NCAA Convention to reflect on developing culture and embarking on the university’s first Head Football Coach search in 20 years. The search, which led to the hire of an internal candidate, provided Cromer and Bobcats an opportunity to engage stakeholders in arenas such as NIL, season ticket sales and annual giving and incorporate student-athletes in the process of defining the program’s cultural priorities.

Cromer also offered insight and reflection on the work of the Transformation Committee, including some of the issues that were left on the “cutting room floor”. Cromer: “Sometimes you have to take issues as they’re ready to be taken. Sometimes you have to pick the fruit when its ripe. We didn’t get as far as we may have wanted but we set the table for a lot of conversations that are happening now, two years later. You can see those issues on the horizon but they were not ripe.”

The conversation is indexed below for efficient viewing (click the time stamp to jump to a specific question/topic).

- You recently went through a Head Football Coach search; how do you establish relationships with all coaches in a way that's open and supportive while also understanding there's a strong possibility that they'll leave one day?
- How do you "succession plan" for coaches and staff turnover?
- Ohio was reportedly the only FBS program to NOT lose a player to the transfer portal before its bowl game. Talk to me about life in the transfer era and how can you as the AD help support retention efforts?
- New Head Coach Brian Smith (the former Offensive Coordinator) is already off to an undefeated start. How is your team capitalizing off these headline-grabbing updates - from a fan engagement and revenue generating perspective?
- The hire was described in terms like "continuity" and "loyalty" - how do those terms define your department and staff as a whole?
- How are you ensuring you find those moments of reprieve?
- Tell me about the strategies you employed to keep this search as confidential as possible.
- As you reflect back on your experience with the Transformation Committee, are there any items that you would have prioritized or advocated for differently in hindsight?
- You're part of the Men's Basketball Oversight Committee - what's top of mind for you from the perspective of men's basketball?
- You've had so many accolades in your career - what is the secret?
- How do you, as a leader, get your team to buy into your vision? How do you strike that balance between strong and soft styles of leadership?
- Was there a moment in your career when you realized the difference between "I am good at supervising people" and "I'm good at just doing the work"?
- In an interview with Ohio Today Magazine, you said: “the power of sports in American culture is undeniable. To be able to use that cultural force to build leadership in young people and to bring communities together is, I think, the most powerful contribution that we can make through sports in general, but particularly through sports at the collegiate level.” Elaborate on that, especially in the broader social/political landscape we’re living through right now.

Video

Investing In Relationships With North Alabama’s Dr. Josh Looney

Video

Taking A Democratic Approach To Leadership With UC Irvine’s Paula Smith

Video

Navigating Leadership Transitions With Washington’s Kim Durand