IU’s Fred Glass Talks Football Opener, Looks Back at First Five Years, and Michelle Gardner

by Kent Sterling

Fred Glass has a great gig, and I can’t believe he’s been at it for five years.  Seems like yesterday he made the media rounds in Indy to talk about his being hired to run the Indiana University Athletic Department.

Since taking over, there has been some very serious change in the direction of the most visible department on the IU Bloomington campus.

The facilities are under constant review, as are the policies that govern coaches.  There are minefields everywhere, and all it takes is a moment of indecision or moral equivocation, and the good work of many years can be forgotten.

The focus for Glass has always been on the welfare of the kids who trust Indiana with their athletic and academic futures.  His leadership has been forward thinking, and has resulted in unprecedented success.

In the interview below, Glass talks about football, the thing that makes him most proud during his half decade, and answers questions about the Michelle Gardner story.  Gardner is the softball coach who reportedly became aggressive in her appraisal of her players after a loss last spring.

It’s fascinating to hear how Glass chose to handle the situation, and if you ever had any doubt that he’s a very smart guy, you won’t after hearing the methodology used to investigate the incident and the resulting action.