Ferdinand A. Geiger : Interview for the Stanford Athletics Oral History Project
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In this oral history, Andy Geiger describes his family, educational, and athletic background and his career in coaching and athletics administration. He focuses primarily on his decade as Stanford University’s athletic director, describing his management philosophy and innovations in facilities, fundraising, and recruiting that contributed to twenty-seven NCAA championships in thirteen different sports for Stanford during his tenure.
- Summary
- In this oral history, Andy Geiger describes his family, educational, and athletic background and his career in coaching and athletics administration. He focuses primarily on his decade as Stanford University’s athletic director, describing his management philosophy and innovations in facilities, fundraising, and recruiting that contributed to twenty-seven NCAA championships in thirteen different sports for Stanford during his tenure. Geiger begins the interview by describing how his parents’ divorce impacted his childhood. He recalls an important turning point in his life when members of the rowing team at Syracuse University spotted the 6’ 4” freshman during registration and encouraged him to join the team. He describes how he acquired a love for the values of discipline, community, and teamwork embodied in the sport, prompting him to switch his goal from a career in the railroad industry to athletics administration. After working as the rowing coach at Dartmouth College, Geiger explains, he returned to Syracuse where he learned the fundamentals of college sports management as assistant to Athletic Director James H. Decker, an early mentor. Geiger then recounts his move to Brown University as the athletic director and speaks of some of the challenges he faced there, including merging the men’s and women’s athletic programs to comply with Title IX and strengthening a moribund football program. He briefly recalls his move to the athletic directorship at the University of Pennsylvania and his work with the NCAA, where he was integral in forging a compromise with the big football schools, known as the Ivy Amendment. Recruited to Stanford in 1979, Geiger describes the state of the program as he found it and his vision for improving it. He recalls how he established a partnership with Silicon Valley developer John Arrillaga, who built athletic offices, a new stadium, and eventually a chain of new structures across the campus. Turning to women’s sports, Geiger describes his approach to Title IX and the opposition of some Buck Club members to using their contributions to support women’s activities. He discusses how he worked to change those attitudes and the array of alternative fundraising techniques that occurred during his tenure, including endowments for named athletic scholarships, unique fundraising events sponsored by the Cardinal Club, and an investment fund to support athletics spearheaded by Frank Lodato and other venture capitalists. To demonstrate the exceptionally challenging recruitment environment at Stanford, Geiger recounts a conversation he had with former admissions director Fred Hargadon who vividly illustrated the difficulties of gaining acceptance to Stanford. He tells how he passed the story on to his coaches, urging them to be resourceful and open-minded about the places where they might find athletes who also met the highest academic standards. Geiger talks about the qualities he looked for when hiring coaches; the difficult job of having to fire a coach; and some of the coaches with whom he worked at Stanford, including Tara VanDerveer, Dick Gould, and Mark Marquess. Geiger’s account also includes stories about the 1985 Super Bowl at Stanford; the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and its aftermath; The Play, which led to Stanford’s last-minute defeat in the 1982 Big Game; and a Stanford gymnast who suffered a paralyzing injury. Throughout the interview, Geiger insists that the client of college sports is the student athlete, who needs both superb coaches and safe facilities to achieve excellence. He concludes the interview with a discussion of his decision to leave Stanford, brief comments on his ensuing work at the University of Maryland and Ohio State, thoughts on why Stanford’s program has been so successful, and an assessment of the future of college athletics.
Description
Type of resource | text |
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Extent | 1 text file |
Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Date created | April 9, 2017 |
Language | English |
Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
Interviewee | Geiger, Ferdinand A. | |
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Creator | Geiger, Ferdinand A. | |
Interviewer | Marine-Street, Natalie J. | |
Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
Subject | College sports |
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Subject | Stanford University. Department of Athletics |
Subject | United States. Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX |
Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
Biographical Profile |
Andy Geiger has been a prominent figure in college athletics in the United States for over fifty years, serving as the athletic director at six universities.
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Audio |
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Finding Aid | |
Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/nq493sb5624 |
Location | SC0932 |
Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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