Transcript from Chad Weiberg’s Introductory Press Conference

Oklahoma State President Dr. Kayse Shrum

Introduction of Athletic Director Chad Weiberg:
"First I want to commend President Hargis and Coach Holder on the tremendous legacy that you have left here at Oklahoma State University and know you are always an important part of the OSU Cowboy family. I am so pleased to be here with all of you today on a morning that not only marks my first day as president, but also a new chapter for a trusted colleague that I respect beyond measure. As a former student-athlete, I know firsthand the grit, determination and spirit that it takes to compete in the ever-evolving arena of collegiate athletics. Some of my fondest memories are on the softball field competing with my teammates and that camaraderie has lasted over 30 years, so it is fitting this is my first official announcement as the president to introduce the new athletic director, because my first introduction to OSU was through a softball camp. Today as the president of a Division I university, I can say there are few people I would want on my team more than the smart, professional and thoughtful leader we have in Chad Weiberg. He will play a key role in the leadership team I have put together to help us achieve the big, audacious goals ahead of us. Excellence in all areas is the only path forward. Research, teaching, extension and service are at the heart of the modern-day land-grant university, and when I look at the qualities of the people on my team, servant leadership is at the top of the list. Chad and I first met when he came to work alongside Coach Holder as the deputy athletic director four years ago and I was struck by his heart for student athletes, his vision for the future and an unmatched servant attitude. He's a Cowboy through and through as he holds an undergraduate degree and a masters degree from OSU. College athletics is in his DNA. His father, Mick, and his brother, Brett, were both college basketball head coaches. His brother, Jared, played basketball here at OSU under coach Eddie Sutton for a year before moving into the role of team manager. His uncle, Kevin, served as the commissioner of the Big 12. To say he is ready for the road ahead is an understatement as he prepares to follow in the footsteps of some legendary OSU figures, such as Ed Gallagher, Mr. Iba and Mike Holder. The trust placed in Chad by Mike, myself and our board of regents is immeasurable. Please join me in congratulating the 13th athletic director of Oklahoma State University and my new team member, Mr. Chad Weiberg."

Oklahoma State Athletic Director Chad Weiberg

Opening Statement:
"Thank you Dr. Shrum. Congratulations to you on your first day. It is humbling and an honor to be the first person you introduce as president. I hope you are president for a long time and I hope you have never have to introduce another athletic director. As many of you in the room know – especially my colleagues – under Dr. Shrum's leadership, OSU Health Sciences has been instrumental in helping us and our student-athletes during COVID; so, we all had a front-row seat to witness her leadership. She has transformed the medical school during her tenure there and we are excited to see that leadership translate to all of Oklahoma State University. I'm honored to be on your team. Thank you.

"I really tried to convince everyone here that we didn't need to do this today; that we could just treat this day like yesterday and tomorrow and keep doing what we do here at OSU Athletics. But I lost that argument and probably for the right reasons. The truth is, for me personally, this is a big deal; it's a dream come true. Like everything and anything significant that happens in life, you don't get there by yourself; that is certainly true for me. There are so many people I want to thank, but I'm just not going to be able to name everyone in the time we have here today. I'm certain they all know it, but I would like to take some time and thank some of them by name this morning.

"Of course, I'll start with my wife and kids: Jodi, my wife, Ella, my daughter and Grant, my son. I'm grateful for the support they give me and for them always being there for me, even though I'm not always there for them. Jodi and I are blessed to get to raise our kids in Stillwater and around the OSU family. One of the great parts of our profession is that we get to have our kids be a part of our work, so you'll continue to see them with us watching the Cowboys and Cowgirls. My mom, Vina, and my dad, Mick, are also here. As Dr. Shrum pointed out, as the son of a basketball coach born in February, I believe I attended my first game at two or three days old. So perhaps that had something to do with me wanting to be a part of sports, but it was their selfless and unconditional love and the sacrifices they made for us along the way that made it possible for each of their sons to believe we could do what we wanted to do.

"My mom has a big family and they are all huge sports fans. Many are here and I appreciate all of you more than you know: Ron, Janet, Laura, Linda. Thank you for your love and encouragement through the years. My brother, Brett, along with my sister-in-law, Kristy, and their kids: Jayden, who's a good basketball player like her dad, and Cash, who is on his way to being a good player like his dad, and my nephew, Cole, who couldn't be here, but he will be a junior at OSU this fall. So, Brett got all the athletic talent in the family, or at least most of it, and has become a great basketball coach. And because he got all the talent, I had to figure out another way to stay involved with sports, because unfortunately for me, it wasn't going to be playing. Thankfully, I had a great example and role model: my uncle, Kevin, who is here and joined by his wife, my aunt, Susan.

"Kevin has had an incredible career in athletics administration. He is always someone I looked up to, probably more than he knows, and was always there for me when I had questions about the profession or a career opportunity. I only hope I can be as close to as good as he is and I'm going to go ahead and thank him here in advance for any advice he is willing to give me in the future.

"My mother-in-law, Betty, and my father-in-law, Pat, are here, along with my brother-in-law, Tony, and sister-in-law, Kelly. Thank you for welcoming me into your family like you have, loving me and supporting us. I couldn't have asked for a better family to join into.

"And my brother, Jared. How I wish he could be with us today. As a fellow OSU alum, I know he would be excited. We shared a love of this place, and just like I try to do every day, I hope I can make him proud.

"I appreciate so many of my long-time friends, some that are here today. It means so much to me and I appreciate you. To all my friends through the years who aren't able to be here today but have told me that they would be wearing orange today: there is nothing better; thank you.

"There are others that I'd like to thank for the support and advice they've given me throughout my career. There's Dave Martin, who I believe is somewhere here today. He encouraged me to apply for a position here at OSU which I was fortunate to get and would be my first full-time job in athletics. Who would have ever thought that 22 years later, he would retire and I would have the opportunity to come back to OSU and fill his position? Thank you, Dave. There's Cathey Jo Warner, Chuck Beddingfield, Dean Lee, Terry Don Phillips, Larry Shell and Jerry Gill at the OSU Alumni Association, all people I appreciate very much. Because I was lucky enough to start at OSU, I never thought I would leave, but I'm grateful I had the chance to learn, grow and gain experience elsewhere.

"I was welcomed with open arms into the K-State family by Ernie Barrett, Amy Renz, Coach Snyder and the Vanier family, and appreciate the opportunity the KSU Foundation, Tim Weiser and Kurt McGuffin gave me there in Manhattan. John Currie, Dr. Kirk Schulz who allowed me to grow in this profession. So many other colleagues who have gone on to other places but are all doing great things, and of course, the many great supporters of K-State that I got to know and still call friends today. Thank you. Kirby Hocutt, who took a chance on me to see if I could do things outside of fundraising and development. We enjoyed our time in Lubbock and I appreciate Kirby more than I can say for giving me that opportunity. It was a much shorter stay than we imagined it would be, but we had colleagues and friends who made us feel like it was much longer than that and will last forever. To former President Hargis, First Cowgirl Ann and all of the Board of Regents – Rick Davis, Joe Hall who are here – thank you for your confidence in me. Thank you for your leadership and all that you've done and continue to do for this university.

"And last but certainly not least, thank you to Robbie and Coach Holder. Coach, with Robbie by your side, thank you for everything you have done for our alma mater. You have taken this entire athletics department to a place only you and Mr. Pickens thought possible. There's not an athletics program here that isn't infinitely better because of your leadership as A.D. these last 16 years. Everywhere you look, you can see the spectacular efforts of your tireless efforts on behalf of the Cowboys and Cowgirls that you love so much and have for 50 years. That's just the things you can see, but it's also in the place you don't see. Through your example, your actions, you have inspired us to think bigger, dream bigger and demand more of ourselves than we ever thought possible. That is the legacy you leave us and the responsibility we have to carry forward. Thank you, Coach, for all you have done for our student-athletes, our coaches and our fans. Thank you for all you have done for me; I am forever grateful.

"As I mentioned, this is a big deal to me; a dream come true. I've been fortunate to have been here for four years now and get reacquainted with and meet so many great people. There are so many good things happening here, highlighted by the team's success of this year amid the backdrop of COVID. Every single one of our teams participated in NCAA postseason play. Through the winter sports, OSU was ranked 20th out of over 300 schools in the Learfield Cup, which measures performance across the department. I believe the spring sports will be added and announced tomorrow and I expect we will be even better.

"I point that out not to brag or take any credit, but simply to say I've been fortunate to be a part of good things with good people over the last four years here. So today we turn a page of sorts, start a new chapter perhaps, but it is the same book. Together, we get to keep writing our story; to keep going, to press forward, to expect and believe our best days still lie ahead. I'm the one up here talking, but this is not about me and it never will be. This is about, first and foremost, our student-athletes. Our former student-athletes, the current student-athletes that are proudly representing this institution all over the world – they are our true North – and the future athletes still to come. This is about the coaches. Many of them are here and I appreciate them very much. Like my dad, they are incredible teachers of the game, but also of leadership and life. It is a privilege to work alongside and get to watch them teach and mentor these young people. This is about our staff – the incredibly skilled and dedicated individuals that come to work every day to share their ideas and their talents to make OSU Athletics as good as we can be. This is about our alumni, donors and fans who proudly wear orange, give of their time, their passion and their resources to support the Cowboys and Cowgirls and do it because they believe in and are proud of what we do and how we do it.

"There is, no doubt, a lot of change taking place that is not just here on our campus, but throughout college athletics: continued COVID protocols, name, image and likeness, transfer rules and possible expanded playoffs. It is more important than ever that we innovate to meet the challenges of our time and to seize the opportunities, but in doing so we must never lose sight of our true North; the talented, smart, courageous young people in our programs – our student athletes. That is how there are 52 NCAA National Championship banners hanging in this arena and that is how we will hang more. We take seriously our role and responsibilities to work with you, President Shrum, for the good of the entire institution. With the unique platform that we have, we want to help shine a bright, orange light on all that will take place here at Oklahoma State University under your leadership. We look forward to working with you as we continue to educate and prepare the next generation of leaders.

"To close, again, thank you to my family. Thanks to everyone who is here and to everyone who has called and sent emails: I wouldn't be here without you and I hope you know that. I'm very humbled and grateful for this opportunity. Thank you, wear orange and Go Pokes."

On his desire to be in administration from a young age:
"I kind of jokingly tell the story that part of it was because my dad said, 'Don't be a coach,' even though he loved it and was good at it, but really it was Kevin. I had a role model right there in the family. I might not have even known that was a path you could go down except for getting to watch what he did in his profession. As I was thinking about it and thinking I wouldn't be as good a coach as my dad or brothers, that might be a path I would want to take to stay involved in athletics."

On his most important focus taking over the department:
"First and foremost, we are still recovering, as I think all athletic departments are, from COVID and all the ramifications of that. We have budget issues and things like that we will need to work out of, but what remains to be seen and what our team is working hard on is we have to get people back. They had a year of getting out of the habit of coming to games, coming to Stillwater and we want to get people back in the habit of doing that and our team is doing a great job of that and we are looking forward to having everyone back."

On the hiring of deputy athletic director Reid Sigmon:
"Reid will be a big part of everything we do. He will come in and fill the chief operating role. I had the pleasure of working with Reid at Kansas State and could not be more impressed with his intelligence, his skill and his relationship building. It's not just what he does, it is how he does it. I think he will be a great part of our team and fit in really well with our team. He has a well-rounded background and experience that he will bring to our team. Certainly, it will be helpful (with the financial category), but he'll be part of a lot more than that. We're very fortunate to get him onto our team and I look forward to getting him to Stillwater so everybody can meet him."

On the beginning of the NIL era:
"I think it is challenging, exciting, opportunistic, all of those things and I don't know we fully know yet what that's going to look like. I think it is an opportunity. It's here and I think our staff has done a great job of preparing OSU athletics to take it on and be part of it. I have not heard yet that any of our student athletes have signed anything, but perhaps they have and look forward to hearing that. I suspect we will be soon and that's a good thing because they can now and we want to do everything that we can to make it possible for them to take advantage of the opportunities they have in that area, just like we would want to in any other area. We have spent a lot of time on it and it is something our staff has had to work on and spend time on. A year and a half ago, we brought on our partner, INFLCR, so it's something we've been diligently working on for at least that long. I feel like we're ready to go with it. We will learn as we go. I think all of us are. We know it's not going to be perfect from the beginning and we will make adjustments and tweak as we go, but I feel good about where we are with it."

On his plan for future facility upgrades:
"We're always looking at those things and I'm very fortunate because of the work Coach Holder has done. He has done a lot of the heavy lifting, obviously. We do have a facilities master plan and will continue to work on that plan. I'm not going to stand up here and tell you exactly the order of it, but we have been public with the fact that a wrestling training facility is one of our priorities. Because of the success we've had in softball, we know we need and want to address that facility as well. One of the final major pieces of the master plan is an indoor track. We've got to have a facility where our track student athletes can train when it is cold and raining. We will be looking at all of those things and what the timing of that looks like, we don't know yet. Part of it will depend on the support we get for those projects."

On Weiberg's father as a coach and how it will impact his own relationships with current coaches and his methods for hiring new coaches in the future:
"Yeah so, I'm not a coach, right? Coach Holder, he was a coach. He certainly can relate. Maybe the next closest thing – I lived with one. I grew up with one for my entire life. I do think that gives a little bit of an inside perspective on the student-athletes and one what's important because you saw it every day. Also, the competitiveness. It was different in the house after a win versus after a loss, right? I think you're right; Coach Holder did an amazing job. We have an amazing group of head coaches here at Oklahoma State. And if I never have to hire another head coach in my entire tenure, I'd be just fine. For whatever reason if I do, it's about who the person is, it's about what's important to them, it's about their priorities, it's about where their heart is and how that fits into what we do here. I think that's what Coach Holder's done such a great job of – identifying why they're so successful – and it's what I'll try to do moving forward if I have to."

On returning to Oklahoma State:
"This has always been my dream job. When I got that right out of school, thanks to Dave Martin, I thought I already had my dream. When the time came to look at moving it was scary for me, and I knew if I chose to leave, then the odds of me getting to come back would be slim. No matter how good I might do, the stars or timing would have to align and what are the odds that would happen? I had to wrap my mind around that to be able to leave and to be able to have any kind of success wherever I was. For some reason, I had a feeling that getting that experience would be good for me in terms of growth. Once you wrap your mind around that, it's like can you even dream it because you just felt the odds and chances were so slim. So to get that call and for it actually to happen is still hard for me to wrap my mind around that I am standing up here today."

On the improvement of athletic facilities under Mike Holder:
"The ramifications of not getting done what Coach Holder has done is scary to think about. It has made the job possible and infinitely more doable. I got to come back as a visitor through all those years and I loved doing that because I got to see the improvements that were taking place. It's amazing what has happened here, but then when you think about that it all happened in a 16-year window, it makes it all the more remarkable. There were challenges in those 16 years, some economic downturns and everything else that you thought would change the plan, but it didn't and just kept going. It's remarkable to see in any circumstance, but in that short timeframe, I think it is just incredible, and makes my job much easier."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Transcript from Chad Weiberg’s Introductory Press Conference

Related News

Related Videos