A crowd of about 30 spectators was present this past Monday to hear Randy Oberembt, the second of three finalists for the LU athletic director position. Oberembt is currently the director of athletics at the Mary Institute and Country Day School, a private high school in St. Louis. Before MICDS, Oberembt was the head football coach at Knox College.
In his speech, he detailed multiple areas on which he feels the LU athletic department needs to focus. He feels that it is imperative that the department becomes more integrated into the college community. In addition, one on one coach-to-athlete connections are important to him. He also recognizes that Lawrence’s status as a first tier liberal arts college will always be an impediment to recruitment and athletic success and that the institution must figure out how to deal with this problem.
Overall, Oberembt was very well-spoken and enthusiastic about the position. Like the first candidate, Amanda Braun, the UW-Green Bay assistant athletic director and senior woman administrator, he offered little advice on how to elicit greater involvement from non-athletes.
The third and final candidate, Whitman College Athletic Director Travis Feezell, will present on Monday in New Science Hall, Room 202. The selection will be made later this spring.
AD search nearing finale
