Join ORU Athletics every Friday in a weekly series featuring interviews with coaches and staff members.
10 Questions with Tim Johnson, Deputy Athletic Director at Oral Roberts University:
- What's it been like to work from home, especially with two young children?
My new little co-workers have no idea what personal space is…they make regular appearances on all my zoom meetings! In all seriousness, my wife has been a superstar in allowing me to be able to conduct business and help the department through this time. She is not only a wonderful teacher at Jenks Southeast Elementary, but also takes care of the kids and is a better cook than Gordon Ramsay. The extra time with family is something I know all of us will look back on with great affection – one of the true blessings in the midst of what we are going through (you can tell from the picture how much our two year-old wants to be with us).
- ORU Athletics exceeded its fundraising goals once again. How difficult was that accomplishment with the coronavirus in play?
We have an incredible donor/support base that pushed us to a tremendous year. Even in the middle of a pandemic, we were able to surpass our budget goal simply because those wonderful people care so much about our student-athletes. We will never be able to thank them enough for their support and generous hearts.
I also continue to be blown away by the amount of donors that continue to call, text, or reach out to check on our staff, our coaches, and our student-athletes. What a tremendous source of hope, energy, and encouragement they have been!
- Several fundraising events were canceled and some future events may be in jeopardy due to the coronavirus. How do you continue to raise funds around the cancellations?
In the bigger picture, we are very hopeful that the fall will bring some normalcy back into our lives, but we are still planning on how we can hold our events in a way that prioritizes the safety of our fans, donors, coaches, staff, and student-athletes.
As of now our plan is to move forward as we always would, with a few delays. The ORU Pro-Am Classic golf tournament, which was such a record breaking event last year, will be pushed back to a date in the fall. We will also be sending out our season ticket/Golden Eagle Club renewals over the summer with any additional information we may have.
We want our fans and community to know that even though some things might be delayed, the excitement and momentum is still there and we are looking forward to a great year ahead!
- What will be some of the biggest fundraising challenges of the current year?
We all know the economy has taken a bit of a hit, but we hope that with the developments we continue to hear about nationally, we will see a recovery in the coming fall and spring. The sacrifice many of our donors continue to make in order to support our student-athletes is truly inspiring – those individuals share in every single accomplishment of our student-athletes, not only while they are at ORU, but also in the incredible things they achieve after their playing days are done.
College athletics is a truly unique enterprise, we simply cannot do any of this without our donors and those who love and invest in our student-athletes. 59% of our student-athletes could not attend college without their athletic scholarship. An incredible number that shows our donors their impact and the opportunity they provide to allow ORU to transform our student-athletes into the leaders the world needs right now.
- Many Golden Eagle Club members did not seek refunds for canceled events. What does that tell you about the personality of the athletics donor base?
One word…unbelievable! I have said before that this season has really afforded us the opportunity to reflect on what makes ORU so special…the people! I believe those individuals are a direct reflection of where their faith is. As I continue to visit with my colleagues around the country, they are amazed at the attitude and servant heart our donors, sponsors, and fans continue to show us.
The past few months have served as a true energizer for me to see how many have come together to say they want to make sure ORU's mission continues to thrive in all circumstances! Those relationships are a true blessing not only to our student-athletes, but to me and my family.
- You came to ORU from Clemson a few years ago. How different is the fundraising environment here?
It is actually very similar in the fact that both institutions have a smaller alumni base without a medical or law school. When that is the case, every donor, every season ticket holder, every sponsor, every fan makes a huge difference – there is a power in numbers! The Golden Eagle Club has grown over 315% the last several years and every single donor makes an impact, from $10 to $100,000.
- What are you looking forward to this year, as it relates to ORU Athletics?
I could not be more excited about what the next several years look like for ORU Athletics. Our theme for the year was "leap year," and even though we saw a disruption, I firmly believe that is what we are about to see with our athletic programs. Men's soccer is coming off a regular season championship in which they also achieved a national ranking inside of the top 20 in the country. Men's and Women's golf won tournaments and now have the ability to practice in a facility second to none in the Clerico Golf Complex. Men's basketball has just signed the second #1 recruiting class in three years in the Summit League, via 247Sports.com. In addition, they achieved their first winning season in five years, were 13-1 at home, and have Oklahoma State coming to the Mabee Center in 2021. Baseball was picked to win the Summit League this year and we have every reason to believe that will be the case next year as well.
Off the court/field, our student-athletes continue to break GPA records, do an outstanding job in the community, and have done a phenomenal job organizing our athletic chapels, growing our chaplain program, and have taken our leadership academy to new heights!
- You directly oversee the baseball program. How disappointing was it to cancel the 2020 season?
I honestly hope I never have to face anything like that again in my career. Basketball was gearing up for a postseason tournament and baseball was about to hit conference play, having already taken 2-of-3 from Baylor. To see so much excitement and hope from our coaches and student-athletes turn into despair was something I will never forget. We have been very mindful of the mental health of our coaches and student-athletes, but this has been something we have had to all work through together. We could not be more proud of our athletic staff in how they have responded – in every way going above and beyond the call.
The NCAA has allowed all seniors who were impacted by the spring sports cancellation to come back and we are very blessed in that it looks like we will be able to provide that opportunity for those who want to take advantage of it. We continue to focus on the things we can control and believe that God will work all these things for good.
- Can you imagine a more unique way to learn on the job than dealing with the challenges of the coronavirus?
The coronavirus has been a tremendous lesson in leadership and the importance of a positive realistic perspective. At a time when it would be easy to throw in the towel and make excuses, it has been inspiring to see our staff and coaches take this opportunity as a chance to get better and solve the problems that lie ahead. I believe ORU will come out of this in a better position, both mentally and spiritually, than we might have ever had the chance without it.
- When things get tough, what Bible verse do you go to for encouragement?
This has been a current focus for our athletic department as a whole. We just brought a speaker in recently to present on the "Gift of Adversity." Adversity gives us the chance to grow and that choice is up to us. How we view things will determine what we get out of it. James reminds us of this in James 1:2-4, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." We know that people will be talking about this pandemic for many years to come, and we want our leadership, growth, and example to be at the center of that story.
10 Questions with....
March 27, 2020 – Mike Carter
April 3, 2020 – Ryan Bush
April 10, 2020 – Mark Milner
April 17, 2020 – Joe Dial
April 24, 2020 – Lance Watson
May 1, 2020 – Roger Bush
May 8, 2020 – Ashtin Meerpohl
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