Notre Dame's 'rising star' expected to light up NIU Athletics

New Northern Illinois University athletics director Jim Phillips comes to DeKalb from Notre Dame where he served as Senior Associate Athletics Director.

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CHICAGO - Northern Illinois University President Dr. John Peters today named University of Notre Dame Senior Associate Athletics Director Jim Phillips as NIU's new Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. Phillips, a Chicago native whose background includes athletics administration jobs at the University of Illinois, Arizona State University, University of Tennessee and Notre Dame, takes the reins at NIU on August 30. "Jim is a rising star in the world of intercollegiate athletics, and we're thrilled to have him join the NIU family," Peters said. "He has tremendous vision and a great reputation as a builder - a builder of relationships, a builder of financial support, and a builder of people and programs." Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White says Phillips created that university's first major athletic fundraising campaign - a $127 million building program that includes a $22 million football facility opening next fall - "from the ground up." "Jim will bring a lot of 'juice' to NIU's program," White said. "To use the vernacular of a college sports recruiter, Jim is a great 'get' for NIU, and NIU is the perfect 'get' for Jim and his family." For his part, Phillips called the up-and-coming Northern Illinois University athletic program "a perfect match," and its challenges "exactly what I've been training for all these years." "The great academic reputation, the huge Chicago-area fan base, the (MAC) conference afiliation, and the strong support of a university president who is himself a leader in college athletics - all those factors make this a dream job, and make NIU the place I want to be," Phillips said. Although he's not officially on the job for another week, Phillips says he already has a five-point, first-year game plan: n "My mantra - and it's going to be everyone's mantra in NIU Athletics - is to give our student athletes a world-class experience. That means succeeding academically, athletically and socially. It's our job to make sure student athletes succeed in the classroom, have the chance to play on winning teams, enjoy their time at NIU and graduate with degrees that lead to successful careers." n "Building the program means building our budget. We have to give our coaches and staff additional support for travel, recruiting, scholarships and academic services. It means we have to increase private fundraising, but it also means we have to increase corporate sponsorships, television sponsorships, ticket sales, apparel and shoe contracts - every aspect of the revenue picture." n "Compliance is getting more complicated every day, and keeping our athletic staff up-to-date on NCAA and other regulations has to be a major focus of my work. NIU has a very good history on compliance, and I want to keep it that way." n "NIU is blessed with a great staff in athletics, and one of my major challenges this first year will be making sure those folks have what they need to do their jobs - certainly resources, but also organizational structure and procedures. I'll be putting a major emphasis on personnel development this year." n "We need a master plan for athletic facilities that is based on areas of greatest need and greatest return. Facilities for basketball, volleyball and a few other sports are terrific - the new Convocation Center is a jewel. Now we have to turn our attention to areas like the football end zone facility and other priorities that will be identified in our master plan. Facility needs are always a top issue, anywhere you go." In addition to his big-time athletic program pedigree, Phillips brings a strong Chicago background to a university that attracts 90 percent of its student body from the Chicagoland area and sends a similar percentage of its graduates back into the region to live and work. The youngest of 10 children born to John and Anita Phillips, Jim grew up in the Portage Park neighborhood on Chicago's northwest side. After graduating from Our Lady of Victory grammar school and Weber Catholic High School, Phillips went on to earn degrees from Illinois and Arizona State, and is completing a doctoral degree in higher education administration from Tennessee. During his undergraduate studies in Urbana, Phillips met his wife, Laura - the youngest member of a family with seven children. With one exception, all fifteen of Jim and Laura's siblings and their families live in the Chicagoland region. For their own part, Jim and Laura Phillips are now parents to four: Luke, 5; Madeline, 3 1/; Meredith, 2; and John Patrick, 4 months. "We're excited to welcome Jim and his family into the NIU family," said Peters. "I know he'll hit the ground running and bring a lot of additional excitement to our program this fall and for a long time to come." Phillips, who replaces long-time NIU AD Cary Groth, signed a six-year contract with the university. His previous positions included four years at Notre Dame (2000-2004); two years at Tennessee (1998-2000); eight years at Arizona State (1990-1998) and two years at Illinois (1988-1990).