Name: Mike McCaffrey
Position/Institution: Athletic Director, University of Saint Francis
Number of years in your position: 7
Alma Mater(s): Old Dominion University ('01)
Hometown: Fort Wayne, IN
Institution Athletics Twitter Handle: @sfcougars

1) Why did you become involved in the NAIA-ADA?
I was asked to serve as our conference rep by the VP of the NAIA-ADA at that time, Angie Fincannon.

2) What is your favorite part about being a member of the NAIA-ADA?
Being involved in the growth of our association in a very meaningful way. The relationships I have formed with other ADA members has been truly awesome!

3) What is the biggest challenge to working in a university environment?
Shared governance. While necessary, it causes things to move a little slower than I would like sometimes.

4) What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment to date?
My 7-year old son, Baylen Ace McCaffrey! Professionally, probably the impact our Cougar Classic golf outing has had on our student-athletes since its inception six years ago.

5) What is the most important skill you have developed in your career?
Listening! It was not a trait I was always able to use effectively. Always felt I need to be the one speaking, but when you actually stop and listen, you grow in amazing ways.

6) Who has been the most influential person in your career?
Mark Pope, no question. Mark saved me from a life of minor league sports and uncertain futures. When he offered me the job at USF, everything in my life both personally and professionally came together.

7) What is one item you cannot live without?
My wedding ring.

8) Who would you chose to switch places with for a day?
Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins…I think he needs some help and advice. I'll leave a note for when he gets back with my tips!

9) If you could plan a vacation to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Australia

10) What is your favorite sporting that event you have ever attended?
2016 NAIA Football National Championship in Daytona Beach, FL.

11) Why/when did you decide to pursue a career in collegiate athletics?
When Mark Pope offered me this job at USF in 2008. I had no clue this is where God would lead me.

12) In your mind, who in this industry can serve as a good role model?
Jim Abbott and Matt Sayre are two that I have come to respect greatly within the NAIA.

13) How has your involvement with the NAIA-ADA influenced your career?
It has given me a greater appreciation of what the NAIA stands for and helped grow my passion for my university to do things the right way. I don't see myself ever being an AD outside of the NAIA.

14) What educational or business experiences best prepared you for a career as an Athletics Director?
My 9 years spent between arena football, minor league baseball and hockey. You are always adjusting, learning something new, handling some form of adversity, juggling a thousand balls in the air at once.

15) What challenges do you face when working with student-athletes?
For me, it is making sure our starting QB feels the same love and appreciation from me as our last player off the bench in soccer or baseball. I truly appreciate them all the same, but sometimes is hard to show it with consistency.

16) Would you please explain a professional success and how you implemented it?
We needed extra scholarship money when I arrived here. Our university discounting was not the answer. We started a scholarship golf outing in 2012 and it has generated over $60,000 per year for us to use for specific student circumstances. We have a large committee made up of alumni, community supporters and others that are critical to the event's success.

17) What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
"Slow down, shut up, and listen to me for a minute" - my former GM in arena football.
What advice would you give to someone looking to become an NAIA Athletics Director?
Earn the respect and trust of your coaches and serve them every day.

18) What was your biggest professional blunder and how did you learned from it?
My first season at USF, I asked a football player to fire a t-shirt into the crowd using a t-shirt cannon. Little did I know at the time that I was NOT in arena football anymore and that our head coach, Kevin Donley, was not interested in his players shooting t-shirts into the crowd in the middle of the third quarter. We had a heart-to-heart conversation the following Monday. Basically, I told him I was a moron, he agreed, and our relationship has grown ever since!

19) What percentage of your work-week is spent in your office?
Less than 50%

20) What are you most looking forward to at the next NAIA or NACDA Convention?
Seeing all of the workshops that I am working on come together and hope that they provide the growth opportunities that they are intended to for our members.


About NAIA-ADA: The NAIA-ADA is comprised of athletics administrators from the nearly 250 institutions representing 21 conferences competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The purpose of the NAIA-ADA is to engage our Athletics Directors with meaningful collaboration, forums and national recognition; empower our Athletics Directors in their professional development and leadership roles in the NAIA; and promoteNAIA Athletics Directors' collective voice on issues affecting membership and college athletics on a national scale. For more information about the NAIA-ADA, please visit www.naiaada.com. The NAIA-ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 53rd year. For more information on NACDA and the 17 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.