AM: You got your undergraduate degree in Physical Education/Athletic Training from the University of South Carolina. How did you get to athletic administration?
Hendricks: During my junior year of undergrad, I was assigned to the football team for my clinical experience. I was standing on the sidelines, looking on the field and up in the skyboxes, and I noticed that most of the people on the field looked like me, but there was only one person in athletic administration who looked like me. I thought there was something wrong with that picture. How can all these other people make decisions when there's a great majority of the population that they really don't know?
So I wondered how I could get to that point. How could I affect change on a broader scale? I loved athletic training and I still do, but I wanted to be able to help people in a different way. I started working with Harold White, who was the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Academics at South Carolina and the only black person on the department staff at that time. I started learning more about the administrative side, student support services, and everything else. I was able to get some great direction, then I went on to get my Master's and Doctoral degrees in higher education administration from Auburn University.
How did you handle being named the youngest athletic director in Kentucky State history?
It may have been a problem for other people, but it wasn't a problem for me. People say you have to be in the business for 15 to 20 years before you can be an athletic director, but I thought, "Let me just try. You won't know unless you try." I did, and it has worked out well.
What made you know you were ready?
Presidential support is key for any athletic director. I didn't know [Kentucky State's president] Dr. Mary Evans Sias prior to coming here, but I knew about her. She had shown herself to be a supportive president to prior athletic directors, and I felt it would be a great situation to work under her. That gave me the confidence to pursue the position.
Also, I had a wonderful situation at Johnson C. Smith, but I felt it was time for me to grow. To do that, I had to leave. I had done all the NCAA leadership programs and other professional development programs, and I was ready to take the next step. Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.
What is the key to getting support from the president and other upper-level administrators?
Number one, it's open and honest communication. I tell my president all the good things, as well as the bad things. The bad things are hard to tell, but you have to do it. An athletic director should make sure their president is never in a situation where he or she doesn't know something. That gives the president confidence in you as you lead your particular part of their university. He or she knows that if something comes up, you're going to handle it, and if it gets to the point where you need input, you'll call and say, "Help me."
What is your approach to mentoring coaches?
It goes back to the same principles of communication. I need to make sure all our coaches are comfortable enough to tell me the good and bad things, so I do a lot to connect with them. I don't often call them and tell them to come to my office. Instead, I go to them. I take the time to get out of my office and talk to them in their space, which has been a really good thing. My coaches also know that they can stop by any time to see me.
Another thing I've been doing since I started here is traveling with our teams on road trips, and my assistant athletic directors also do this. At Johnson C. Smith I had begun traveling to away games and saw the difference it made with the teams. For one, a lot of misunderstandings can be avoided if an administrator is at a road contest. But also, I get a chance to see how the coaches work on the road, and they get to know me outside of being in a suit and heels in the office. Then when it's time to have that evaluation or checkpoint meeting with a coach, I'm talking from I've seen, not what I've heard.
How have your coaches responded to having an administrative presence on the road?
For the coaches who had been here a while, it was a big change, so it was key for me to tell them that I was not going to get in the way. It's still their show, and my role is just to see what's going on. But if they need anything, I'm there to help, and they've appreciated that. If something comes up with the school we're playing or the transportation,
I can handle those things and let them focus on coaching. The important thing has been allowing the coach to still be in control.
What is the key to making great coaching hires that fit in with your school's philosophy?
We take the Division II philosophy very seriously here. This is not a win-at-all-costs environment. The two most important things are student-athlete welfare and academics, and athletics comes third.
I try to infuse that philosophy throughout the hiring process. I might not ask a potential hire, "Do you think academics should come before athletics?" Nobody is going to answer no to that question. But I craft my questions in ways so that I can figure out what a person is really about. I also look at the accomplishments they've had at other schools. If their team had the highest GPA in the conference, then obviously academics are important to this coach. If they've had several people on their team who were in student government or won various awards, then obviously making sure players have a well-rounded experience is important.
What do you do to promote the Division II philosophy?
We have the "I Chose Division II" slogan on our Web site and it's displayed throughout our buildings. We use that slogan when we're recruiting and our coaches have a lot to say to prospective student-athletes about why they would fit at Division II. We also tell parents and athletes why the staff here chose Division II. For me, I wanted to be at a place where I could be more hands-on with the student-athletes. I know who they are and they know who I am.
What are your current goals for Kentucky State?
Last year, our staff went on a retreat where we came up with a theme for the department, which is "One Team, One Vision: Champions." One of my goals when I came here was to get everyone on the same page and help them understand that there's really only one team here. There are different parts to it, but we're all here for the same purpose.
That theme is now plastered all over the department, and we're working on expanding it even more. It's in our e-mail signatures, we're having banners put up in various locker rooms and buildings, and we've done some other promotional items for the student-athletes. The football team this year wore T-shirts that had "One Team, One Vision" printed on the back, and they said those words when they broke their huddle. It's catching on and the student-athletes are really excited about it.
How have you improved the school's compliance program?
That was one of the first things I was asked to do upon my arrival. We've gone through the NCAA's compliance blueprint program and we're really pleased with the outcome. We've developed a lot of manuals and all sorts of forms, so there should be no issues with record keeping. We've also enhanced the compliance education piece--not just for the athletic staff, but for all the other areas that impact us, like financial aid, the registrar, and admissions.
In addition to your work on the Division II Management Council, you've also served on the NCAA's Academic Requirements Committee and the Sub-Committee for Initial Eligibility Waivers. Why is national involvement important to you?
Being on committees is so important for understanding how the NCAA works. Also, the big, national decisions are being made in these committees, but you can't get your opinion heard if you don't have a seat at the table. I think I have a unique viewpoint as an athletic director at a historically black, smaller Division II college, so I have to be involved with committees to have my views heard.
I can then bring all the information I gain from serving on committees back to my campus and conference. That's the responsibility I have --not only to represent everyone well, but also relay the knowledge and help them understand what's happening at the national level.
What advice would you give to other young athletic directors hoping to get involved in committee work?
Apply. A lot of people talk about it, but they don't take the time to fill out the application. It's also important for others to know who you are. Don't just go to the conventions and sit with the people you know--meet new people. It's important to network so when your name comes up, someone will give you a second look. Being involved on the conference level can also help when it comes to the national committees.
What are your personal goals for the future?
I got here much faster than I thought I would, so I had to go back and revamp my plan. I think the next stop for me will be going into general university administration as a vice president or something similar, and then ultimately being a university president. That's the path I'm working on now.
The great thing about being in athletics is that you work with many different people across campus and you have to understand all the pieces of a university. When I get to the next step, I'll have a really good working knowledge of how all the various departments function.
