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Y! MyWebKissell put UD basketball back on map
Hirings of Purnell, Gregory helped pump life into the Flyers' athletic programs.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
DAYTON — Oliver Purnell planned to fly to Dayton with his family, having all but decided to take the UD men's basketball coaching job, before running into a snag at the airport.
They couldn't purchase a flight because the airline's ticket machine had crashed, and to Purnell, who already was conflicted, it seemed like an omen. But Ted Kissell's power of persuasion ultimately prevailed.
"I went back home with my family and called Ted and said, 'Look, this whole thing is moving too quickly,' '' Purnell said. "At that point — and I think it's a great example of his style — he said, 'Hey, take all the time you need because you're the guy we want.'
"We thought about it that day long and hard and called back and said, 'We're coming out to look at it. If we really like it, we'll probably accept the job.' ''
Of all the moves Kissell made in his 16 years as UD athletic director, probably none was more significant than the hiring of Purnell. Men's basketball is the school's only revenue-producing sport and keeps the entire athletic department afloat, and when Kissell arrived in 1992, the program was reaching its nadir.
He fired Jim O'Brien, who had produced just 10 wins in the previous two seasons combined, and after being spurned by Siena coach Mike Deane (he took the Marquette job), Kissell pursued Purnell.
Within four years, the Flyers were playing in the NIT, and Purnell took the team to two NCAA tournaments and two NITs in his final four years before leaving for Clemson.
Kissell called that coaching search "a pivotal moment" for UD athletics, and he relished the challenge.
"That was probably the most professionally satisfying period of time in my career. ... I was so locked in — I played competitive tennis — and every athlete knows of a time when you're just in a zone. During that period of a week or so, I was so locked in and completely focused. It was so energizing and so engaging," he said.
Purnell credits his collaborative relationship with Kissell for much of the success.
"Ted's the only guy I've ever worked for who at the end of the year — and sometime in the middle of the year in an unofficial way — would ask, 'What barriers do we have to remove going forward to help us to win?' ... As a coach, that's like music to your ears. We've done this and that and that, but what do we need? The first time I heard that, I was almost startled."
Kissell still asks those questions of all his coaches, and Brian Gregory, who replaced Purnell five years ago, believes that's why the retiring AD has flourished with the Flyers.
"If you evaluate leadership by the performance of the people under his watch, he's done just an unbelievable job," Gregory said. "The success on the fields and courts of his teams, the success of the student-athletes in the classroom, the impact athletes and coaches have made in the community, it's a dramatic change, and it's all come under Ted's leadership.
"Personally, we have a great relationship," Gregory said. "He means the world to me. It's been great to me as I've started my career as a head coach. He's a tough guy to say goodbye to."
