Sports Q&A: Ceal Barry
The Ceal Deal
Athletic administrator Ceal Barry, the winningest women鈥檚 basketball coach in school history, completed her 30th year at CU-Boulder. Last summer she served as interim athletic director after the departure of Mike Bohn and before the hiring of Rick George.
What made you decide not to throw your hat in the ring for the permanent A.D. job?
Primarily, it鈥檚 pretty well understood that the department was in search of additional revenues and revenue production, whether that be through fundraising, licensing, sponsorships 鈥 areas that I鈥檓 not familiar with. During the last eight years as an administrator, I鈥檝e worked more with internal operations. The charge of what the chancellor was searching for, and what my strengths are, really didn鈥檛 match up.
Between being the interim A.D. and heading up the search committee, was it enlightening for you?
I think you work to learn and to become an interesting person, to get better as a human being. That鈥檚 part of why we鈥檙e in interesting careers. Who wants to be stale or stagnant? Nobody. So hopefully I鈥檓 learning something every day. Part of the reason I got out of coaching was because I could run those basketball camps with my eyes closed. I thought, 鈥淚鈥檓 becoming a boring person.鈥 So yeah, it鈥檚 really been interesting. I have learned a lot about things that I was not exposed to in the last eight years as an administrator.
Were you given any guarantees about your position when you took on the interim A.D. role?
No, and that鈥檚 important. Who wants to get comfortable and be protected? I think I鈥檓 going to have to prove myself to the sixth athletic director who I鈥檝e worked for. I鈥檓 getting up there in years and I don鈥檛 have the same skillset as a 25-year-old who can do technology and social media, so what are the things I can offer, other than historical perspective? I think it鈥檚 important that I prove myself just like anyone else. I don鈥檛 want to retire. I don鈥檛 have children. I like to play golf but not that much. I鈥檇 get bored. I like the intellectual stimulation of fixing problems. I did that as a coach. Hopefully I鈥檒l still be able to do that.
In the last eight years, have you ever missed coaching, or do you think you鈥檒l ever go back?
I think about that every March because that鈥檚 the fun month. There are 11 hard months and March is the fun month. Or I鈥檝e thought, 鈥淲hen I retire I鈥檓 going to coach a seventh-grade team.鈥 But when I think about coaching, I think I just can鈥檛 do it. I鈥檓 too busy right now but maybe someday.
Have you enjoyed your role the last eight years?
I firmly believe that former coaches who have an interest and an aptitude make very good athletic administrators. Recruiting, managing assistant coaches, coaching games, taking a team on a road trip, disciplining student-athletes 鈥 I think they鈥檙e vital experiences for administrators to have because it鈥檚 hard for administrators to put themselves in the shoes of an assistant coach, head coach or a student-athlete if they have never lived it 鈥 and really, really lived it.
Do you foresee retiring from CU?
I definitely will finish my career at CU 鈥 hopefully in five or seven more years. Part of that will be dependent upon what the new athletic director has me doing. Maybe he will see a skillset that I have that I don鈥檛 see. It will be nice to have someone else with a fresh set of eyes looking to see, 鈥淗ow can she contribute?鈥 That will be kind of interesting.
Photo by Glenn Asakawa