Rinehart Named Interim SDSU Athletic Director

Robert Rinehart shook his head as he looked at the side wall of his nearly bare office Monday afternoon. Just hours before, Rinehart had been named the interim athletic director at San Diego State.

Mary Alice Hill, fired as athletic director Thursday, had left only one picture on the wall when she cleaned out that office over the weekend. It was a print of five clowns whose expressions spanned the spectrum of emotions.

“It makes me sad that she left that here,” Rinehart said. “I gave Mary that picture.”

In that office, and in all of the SDSU athletic department of late, the saddest of faces have been predominant. Rinehart seemed to be putting on a whimsical face, lending perspective in the wake of turmoil.

“The idea of the picture is to remind me that no matter how bad things are, there will be bright days,” Rinehart said. “On the other hand, you don’t want to get too cocky when things are going good.

“Maybe she left it to remind me.”

Rinehart, a biology professor who started the SDSU student-athlete academic support services program nearly four years ago, Thursday was named acting athletic director. Thomas Day, SDSU president, said he does not plan to initiate a search for a permanent director for several weeks.

That’s fine with Rinehart, who does not see himself as merely a fill-in. His pride and workaholic nature would not allow him that.

“I’m not interim in my mind,” Rinehart said. “I’ve been given a free hand to run the department. I honestly don’t know what that means, and I don’t know what the restrictions are here. Guess I will find out. But I’m the athletic director until somebody tells me no.”

Since he became a professor in 1964, Rinehart has taught everything from freshman biology to graduate seminars on environmental mutagenesis. He said he cannot direct the beginning biology program and be athletic director at the same time, so he will not teach in the fall.

Instead, he will try to implement his strong organizational techniques and congenial personality into his efforts as athletic director. By Monday afternoon, Rinehart had already scheduled an 8 a.m. meeting for Wednesday and had made plans to meet with all the coaches within the next few days. Rinehart is familiar with the coaches from his days as director of the academic support services program.

“I have a number of things I want to do,” Rinehart said. “I want to straighten up some loose ends and hopefully go in some new directions. I hope my academic credentials allow me to bring something to this office that wouldn’t have been there before.”

In his statement announcing Rinehart’s appointment, Day praised him “for his deep interest in and knowledge of athletics on this campus,” and for his record of “working well with coaches and teams, which are essential elements of the program.” Day did not attend the press conference announcing Rinehart’s new status.

Clearly, one of the reasons for Rinehart’s selection is his ability to bridge the academic and athletic worlds at SDSU.

The former USC offensive guard and nose tackle (1949-51) is as at home with graduate assistants as he is with fullbacks.

“There is an obvious dichotomy in my life that friends find hard to understand,” Rinehart said. “On one hand, one of the great loves of my life has been research. On the other, I have always considered myself close to athletics. Most people think those interests are contradictory, and maybe they are, but they seem to make life interesting.”

Rinehart found out about his new position while speaking on a pay phone approximately 15 miles outside of Yellowstone Park. He had been advised to keep in touch with Day during his vacation. On Friday, while he was on his way to Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park, he called Day.

Suddenly, he was being asked to take over the top position in the athletic department. He said the idea of being an athletic director had never entered his mind until the recent turmoil at SDSU.

“Then, it was a possibility that was discussed,” Rinehart said, “but I didn’t know what direction things would take when I left on vacation. I was playing a ‘what if’ game.”

Rinehart, 53, likes to wear shorts and a T-shirt to work. He has walked from his Del Cerro home to the campus for the past 15 years.

But then that was when he was just a professor and a member of the Intercollegiate Athletic Authority.

He claims that becoming an administrator will not change him, but admits it might force him to dress differently. Rinehart wore a sport coat, shirt and tie to Monday’s outdoor press conference.

At first, Rinehart appeared a little nervous at the press conference. Addressing a class is one thing; addressing the media is another.

“Be gentle with me,” he said. “It’s my first time. It’s new to get the feeling that all my words are suddenly important.”

It didn’t take long for him to warm up.

He beamed when discussing his long relationship with SDSU, dating to his degree in life sciences in 1958. His wife, Carolyn, and oldest daughter, Pam, are SDSU graduates. Son Mike, a safety on the 1983 Aztec football team, will graduate this year, and daughter Gail is entering her sophomore year.

Then, the discussion got more serious.

“I would like to believe I was the savior, but my powers are not that great or my reputation that good on that side (academic side of campus). I’m egocentric enough to believe I’ll make a difference in getting information out. I’m not so naive to think that I will satisfy everyone on the other side of campus . . .

“I hope to walk away, whether it be in one year, 10 years or 50 years, and say I’ve improved it.”

WHAT RINEHART SAYS ABOUT . . .

ON STUDENTS who are special admissions: “One of the first things we will be doing is broaching this problem. We can get better information to the coaches. It’s a very difficult question to handle. A February commit to a June admit. The last semester in high school can make the difference for some students. Can you pick out the kids who will pick up versus the ones who lope along?

“The athletic director does not have the final say on who is going to be admitted on this campus. That’s handled through the admissions office.”

DO YOU plan to make any changes in the athletic department? “Don’t anticipate any changes. I’m trying to access if there are some problems. If there are, let’s try to solve them.”

ON THE student-athlete academic support student services program he developed: “Those programs moved things in the right direction. The program is expanding, and in many respects, our athletes are as good academically as the other students. Athletes get a bum rap. I fought that for years.”

CAN THE SDSU athletic program make money? “We do not have to fill the stadium for football, but we have to come close to drawing 40,000, which we once did.”

IS BASKETBALL coach Smokey Gaines’ job in jeopardy? “No. Smokey just came off a heck of a good season.”

HIS KNOWLEDGE about the turmoil in the athletic department during the past weeks: “You’d be surprised what I don’t know about what’s been going on in the past two weeks.”