Sitting next to one of the single largest investments Indiana has ever made into one person, in Aaron Wellman, Tom Allen, another one of those large investments, expressed confidence in new athletic director Scott Dolson to continue the investments Fred Glass has made in the football program.
It was clear in the efforts that IU athletic director Fred Glass made – whether it be closing off the South End Zone of Memorial Stadium to build the Excellence Academy or funding a locker room renovation competitive with other Big Ten programs or extending Tom Allen seven years with a legitimate Big Ten salary – football was a key focus for him during his tenure at Indiana.
Glass took the reins of the athletic department during the 2008 season, a year after Indiana played in the Insight Bowl, and he said when announcing his retirement at the end of the 2019-20 school year that football needed more investment from his end when he took the job. With that increased investment, came wins.
Since 2013, save for a Nate Sudfeld injury in 2014, Indiana has hovered around bowl eligibility, and on the recruiting trail, facility upgrades and staffers with deep and substantial resumes have placed Indiana in recruiting battles with SEC programs, resulting in two of Indiana’s best recruiting classes (2018 and 2019) in program history.
So when it was announced that Scott Dolson, the No. 2 to Glass during Glass’ tenure and an IU Athletics administrator for two decades, was set to be named the next athletic director, it was natural for fans to wonder whether those investments would be carried out past Glass’ days at Indiana, especially with Dolson’s close ties to Indiana Basketball.
Allen expressed a confidence in further investment into his program Tuesday.
“When I came here, I sensed that Fred Glass had a different mindset about Indiana football,” Allen said. “To me, it's just a continuation of that. Also, I just think about the process we went through to make that happen, and Scott Dolson played a huge role in those negotiations and just his support. Now, with him being named the new athletic director just continues to show that Fred Glass and our administration, and now Scott Dolson in his new role, understand that football is going to be performing at a high level in the Big Ten, and we have to invest in this program.”
Allen was sitting next to new strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman when he spoke on the athletic director transition. Wellman was unexpectedly pulled from the New York Giants and was signed to make $700,000 per year, one of the highest Division I strength and conditioning coach salaries, at Indiana.
Allen noted that investment along with the money that was required to hire former Fresno State offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer to Indiana’s staff – $800,000 for 2019, a top-10 Big Ten assistant salary – before DeBoer left for Fresno State again. But most significantly, David Ballou and Matt Rhea collectively made $775,000 at Indiana before leaving for Alabama in late-February. Split between the two, the numbers weren’t as big – $400,000 and $375,000 – but consolidated into one salary for Wellman, the investment is tangible.
“You invest in what you believe in, and they invested in me with a seven-year contract,” Allen said. “Getting (the strength and conditioning coach) right was a very big priority for me, and I just can't thank Fred Glass and Scott Dolson and our president and our board of trustees and all their support for allowing this to happen.”
Dolson’s relationship with Indiana Basketball, being high school friends with Delray Brooks and serving as a manager for four years in the late-80s, took center stage during his introduction as athletic director earlier this month, but he also mentioned a relationship with legendary head football coach Bill Mallory.
Dolson, who also worked with Glass on the investments the athletic department made into the football program, said that Mallory took him under his wing and discussed with him over lunch on multiple occasions what the football program needed to build momentum and find some success. He even noted that Mallory had hoped Dolson would become Indiana’s athletic director one day.
“Things that he talked about, he and Fred and I talked,” Dolson said. “That's a continued investment in the program. What I mean, not just money, which is important, but also just a vision for what does the program need to be on the cutting edge of a modern-day football program. Fred has done a great job of that. I want to continue to do that.”
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.
