Jim Schaus is part of the 2025 Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame induction class. The class will be inducted on Sat., Jan. 18.

Steve Rainbolt remembers leaving his interview with Wichita State athletic director Jim Schaus and thinking "No way they give the track and field coach an office that nice."

Schaus hired him in August 2000 and Rainbolt did indeed end up in that corner office three years later after the renovation and expansion of Levitt Arena into Charles Koch Arena.

"It's the premier office, and I thought 'Surely they're going to put the basketball coach in there,'" Rainbolt said. "Jim was a visionary. Jim grew up in the world of college athletics and was, I felt, very savvy with regards to athletics and building a program and building and managing a department."

In that interview, Schaus, a member of the 2025 class of the Wichita State Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame, demonstrated that while he certainly knew the importance of basketball, he valued each sport. That philosophy led to a makeover of the athletic department and unprecedented success that carried on after his departure.

"It can never be just about one sport or two sports," said Schaus, athletic director from 1999-2008. "If you're going to be in college athletics, you want to be successful at everything."

In 2003-04, Wichita State won the Missouri Valley Conference All-Sports Trophy for the first time since 1988. Under Schaus, WSU won four straight and, with many of his coaching hirings in place, won seven more from 2008-09 before leaving the MVC after the 2016-17 season.

Schaus moved from Wichita to the University of Ohio as athletic director for 11 years. He served as commissioner of the Southern Conference from 2019 until retiring in 2023. His time at Wichita State remains a highlight of his career.

Schaus lives in Boiling Springs, S.C. where he is active in his church and with A New Beginning Campus Ministry. His three children and seven grandchildren live close enough for frequent visits.

"It was my favorite job, favorite place I've ever been," he said. "It's where my three kids grew up. We had tremendous success, because it was a great team of people."

Schaus took over a sluggish athletic department in 1999 at age 39. The struggles of men's basketball weighed down the department. Levitt Arena and its offices, locker rooms and academic areas fell far behind its peers.

"I wanted to work so hard for him," said Gretchen Torline, director of athletic academic services. "He worked so hard and was engaged in everything. He absolutely came in and you saw what an AD was supposed to do."

With president Don Beggs invested in turning athletics around, Schaus calculated Wichita State's needs, both personnel and facilities. He valued all sports and worked to provide resources. He hired excellent coaches. He trusted coaches and staff to do their jobs.

He created an upbeat attitude with his energy and his "It's a great day to be a Shocker" slogan. He served as an enthusiastic front man for the department and the "Roundhouse Renaissance" fund-raising campaign. Early in his tenure, he held a weekly radio show to connect with fans.

"I don't know that anybody could beat Jim to the office," said Korey Torgerson, associate athletic director for compliance. "He had a plan, and he executed the plan. To rejuvenate this department, when he came here, he needed to get the men's basketball program going again. You can use that revenue to grow your other sports programs."

Schaus put the university in position for an unprecedented run of success for 20-plus years in a variety of sports. He revived a struggling basketball program by hiring Mark Turgeon and later Gregg Marshall. He brought Wichita State's facilities into the modern era by leading the effort to renovate and expand Levitt Arena into Charles Koch Arena.

"It was a perfect combination of staff, university support and donor support," Schaus said. "That made everything easier. The campus was supportive. People were ready, wanting to get back to winning."

Women's sports thrived as never before under Schaus, especially women's basketball and volleyball. Those sports won their first MVC titles and earned their first NCAA appearances with coaches hired by Schaus. Tom McCurdy did the same with women's golf after being hired by Schaus.

Volleyball coach Chris Lamb remembers Schaus as the kind of athletic director who helped staff put down sandbags in the tunnel at Levitt Arena during a storm before the renovation.

"He was right there with us," Lamb said. "We thought water was going to come raining through the tunnel."

His hirings included Lamb, Rainbolt, McCurdy, former women's basketball coach Jody Adams (now at New Mexico State), former tennis coach Chris Young (now at Oklahoma State), cross country coach Randy Hasenbank (now at Iowa), cross country coach Marc Burns (formerly at Missouri) and former softball coach Tim Walton (now at Florida).

This weekend, Schaus returns to WSU to celebrate his legacy by joining a hall of fame bursting with recent additions and incoming candidates he helped by leading the athletic department into a new era.