Sept. 22, 2011

Note: This article appeared in the gameday program at the Illinois-Arizona State game on Sept. 17.

By Ben Taylor, Illinois Sports Information

After Illinois' season-opening victory against Arkansas State, new athletic director Mike Thomas headed back to his office in the Bielfeldt Athletic Administration Building. But don't get the wrong idea; it was to indulge in a few minutes of one of his favorite pastimes, watching college sports.

Thomas, who was heading to the Illini volleyball match at Huff Hall later that evening, went back to the office instead of his rental condominium in downtown Champaign because his office has a more extensive channel package and he could check scores and watch highlights of the day's action. But that instance was a small indicator of the breakneck pace at which Thomas' world has moved in the last six weeks - he hasn't even had a chance to pick a cable or satellite provider.

"It's been fast-paced, as you can imagine," Thomas said. "In some ways, it's probably been good that I haven't had a lot of time to think about it because it's happened so quickly. The transition has certainly been aided by the fact of the people here at the University of Illinois who work in this department and on this campus helping me learn the landscape and getting to know how things function on campus.

"And the community's been great. The time that I've spent with the people who support our programs has been tremendous."

Thomas, who came to Illinois after six years as the athletic director at the University of Cincinnati, has made a media splash after aspiring to lift Illinois athletics to the position of "King of Chicago" in his introductory press conference and mentioning the possibility of playing football games in Chicago on an annual basis.

But he will be the first to admit that he's learning on the job, trying to get his arms around an athletic department that had a budget of $70 million last year. One of the first things he has come to appreciate, though, is the level of significance the Fighting Illini have within the Champaign-Urbana community.

"I think there's a genuine interest and passion for this university and our intercollegiate athletics program," Thomas said. "It's really neat to be in a place where, wherever you go, you see a lot of orange and blue. And that tells me that the opportunity for future growth is tremendous. Because at the end of the day, it's going to take people to make our goals happen."

That color combination is a welcome comfort for Thomas, a Pueblo, Colo., native who is a lifelong Denver Broncos fan. But he also relishes meeting new people and finding his way in a new city, where he lived in the revitalized downtown area of Champaign with his daughter, Meredith, while his wife, Jenifer, tied up loose ends in Cincinnati. Once his wife and son, Mick, join them in Champaign, they'll move into former head basketball coach Lou Henson's house while Henson and his wife, Mary, spend the winter in Las Cruces, N.M.

"The real neat thing about it is - I mean, it's tough being away from my wife and my son, Mick, who's moving here with my wife - but it's given me some time to be just with my daughter," Thomas said. "So for the most part, it's been great.

"I think the greatest challenge for me - and when the media asked me the other day about stress in the job, I said the only stress I have is before I come to work and that's getting my daughter out of bed and getting her to school. I said that's where my stress comes in. Once I drop her off, the stress level drops. But these are the kind of things that you'll remember years down the road, that she and I had two or three weeks to spend, just the two of us."

What many Illini fans are interested in are his plans to more aggressively position the Orange and Blue in Chicago, and while Thomas plans on doing just that, he cautions that it may take time.

"I would like to sit here and say let's flip a switch and it's going to look different tomorrow," Thomas said. "But a lot of what you do and where you've allocated resources has already been made for fiscal year 2012. That doesn't mean we can't shift gears, but I think that planning needs to start now."

And it isn't just a small-scale project that Thomas has in mind for Chicago. He envisions a broad-based approach that starts at the top of the university administration.

"Whether it's related to fundraising, ticket sales, merchandise sales, admissions - not just of student-athletes, but of students - and recruiting - both of students and student-athletes - I think there needs to be a real presence up there. To me, I think it would be significant if that was an institutional decision and we had a plan where we were joined at the hip with people on campus to go up there and make a difference.

"I just think there are great opportunities up there and we have a fan base and alumni base that would certainly gravitate toward us doing more and having a bigger brand up there, which is really a big step in us becoming more of a national brand." As the planning for projects of that magnitude begins, Thomas has still been able to find time for regular activities like his jogging routine.

"I did find the one hill," Thomas joked. "And being from Colorado, I was looking for some hills. But I think campus is great to run around. You've gotta have your head on a swivel or you might get run over. And that's OK. That's why, on campus, I don't run with an iPod. When I'm around town, I normally do.

"But I'm kind of directionally challenged; I keep things in a square (with my running route). To me, it's a good way to see things and learn the city. Believe me, at the pace I run - which isn't real fast - I get an opportunity to see a heck of a lot."