The RoundHouse | 9/20/2019 2:47:00 PM

Where are they now?
Jim Schaus – athletic director (1999-2008)
 
Jim Schaus understood that college athletics is a transitory profession. Looking forward, rarely back, is a time-honored strategy to deal with the changes.
 
Eleven years after leaving Wichita State, now in the job that might well be his final one, Schaus can reflect on his days in Wichita. That time, for professional and family reasons, is worth looking back on.
 
"Oftentimes, I told people that when you leave your job and you're going somewhere else, don't get too fixated about your legacy," he said. "Things move on. You just have to turn that page. I would say one place where I worked at where it wasn't like that was Wichita State."
 
Wichita State gave him first job as athletic director. His children grew up in Wichita. He remembers, during his first week in Wichita, how many people waved to him and wanted to talk about the Shockers.
 
"I think the people in Wichita are special," he said. "The school was ready for getting back on track in a sport like basketball."
 
Schaus, 59, became commissioner of the Southern Conference in June after 11 years as athletic director at Ohio University. 
 
He enjoys the basketball-focus of the SoCon and feels a connection to its history because his father (Fred Schaus) earned Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors four times while at West Virginia from 1954-60. Like the Missouri Valley Conference, the SoCon is a mix of private and public schools, with two military academies, as well. 
 
Its location in Spartanburg, S.C., is a plus, close to his three children and three grandchildren. His father died in 2010 and his mother (Barbara) still lives in Morgantown, W.V. Spartanburg is, Schaus said, the kind of place he can retire in. 
 
"I think I was just ready for a change," he said. "I thought this was really going to be a good fit for me, to see athletics from a different view."
 
Schaus arrived at Wichita State in 1999 to direct an athletic department struggling with men's basketball and housed in outdated Levitt Arena.
 
His tenure marked the first significant steps into a new age for Shocker athletics. 
 
By the time he departed in 2008, the Shockers played in renovated and expanded Charles Koch Arena and returned to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Schaus played a leading role in improving women's athletics and his tenure started Wichita State's domination of the MVC All-Sports Trophy.
 
He hired volleyball coach Chris Lamb, women's golf coach Tom McCurdy and track and field coach Steve Rainbolt, all of whom remain at Wichita State. He hired men's basketball coaches Mark Turgeon and Gregg Marshall, former women's basketball coach Jody Adams and former softball coach Tim Walton – all of whom took the Shockers to NCAA tournaments. 
 
Those years set the stage for more recent progress, highlighted by the move to the American Athletic Conference in 2017 and continued growth in facilities.
 
"A magical time, wonderful time," Schaus said. "All I can think about is the people. We had a lot of success. People got excited and involved. We raised some money for facilities and certainly got men's basketball back on track and had success with All-Sports Trophies."
 
Family: Wife, Priscilla; children, Kevin, Diane, Laura
 
Basketball conference – Schaus takes over the Southern Conference at a good time.

Wofford finished last season No. 14 in the NCAA's NET ranking with a 30-5 record and an NCAA Tournament win over Seton Hall. UNC Greensboro and Furman, which lost to Wichita State, played in the NIT. Former Shocker assistant Steve Forbes built East Tennessee State into a consistent winner.
 
Ken Pomeroy ranked the SoCon No. 13 nationally, its highest spot since 2008 (also No. 13). The SoCon plays in the Football Championship Subdivision and its outdoor sports such as golf and tennis are strong, thanks in part to weather. 
 
"We're a very strong basketball conference," Schaus said. "That's a strength I hope we can continue to grow upon and build and maintain."
 
Schaus will spend his first year working on a strategic plan. Next year is the conference's 100^thanniversary. The conference's deal with ESPN expires within two years.
 
"I'm a proponent of planning," he said. "We haven't had a plan in almost 10 years and when you have diverse institutions you want to get everybody on the same page."
 
Like with the MVC's resurgence, the SoCon rose as schools invested in facilities and made good coaching hires. Schaus wants to use his experiences as an AD and with the NCAA selection committee to help with scheduling.
 
Comfortable in the middle – The move to the SoCon continues a career defined by schools trying to punch up against schools and conferences with more money. 
 
"I think that's been my niche professionally, that I just gravitated to a place that there's opportunities to build and grow," he said. "I'm not so sure I would have been the ideal person to be at the very highest end of the food chain, that had all the resources. I've enjoyed being at mid-major-type programs. I enjoy the challenges of building and growing. I like college athletics at the right level, in terms of the balance of athletics and academics, having athletics in the right perspective."
 
Final Four feeling – Schaus received a reminder of his connection to Wichita State during the 2013 Final Four in Atlanta. The Shockers played Louisville and Schaus walked through the crowd to renew some friendships.
 
"One after another, people came up . . .  and that was overwhelming," he said. "That was meaningful. So many different friendships. I always felt very appreciated. It was special. I was really proud of Gregg and having a chance to hire him and watch him grow."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.