University president agrees time is right for AD Joel Maturi to retire

MINNEAPOLIS - Joel Maturi's tenure as athletic director at the University of Minnesota will end June 30 when his contract expires.

Eric Kaler, university president, announced Maturi would retire on Thursday morning during a press conference at TCF Bank Stadium. Kaler wants to have a new hire in place by July 1.

"For the past several months Joel and I have been in discussions about his future roles," Kaler said. "The decision we announce today was made together and mutually. It will be, we agree, simply the right time for Joel to retire as athletic director."

Maturi, who will turn 67 next week, will remain at the university to teach, do fund-raising work and assist Kaler on special projects. It has been expected for several months that Maturi wouldn't be in his current job past June 30, but it was unclear when that announcement would come.

Multiple reports said Maturi will keep his annual base salary of $351,900 in his new position.

Maturi has been known as a workaholic since becoming the Gophers athletic director in 2002 and he admitted Thursday that keeping up his hectic schedule was becoming more and more difficult.

"I do not know how to do the job differently - and the 14 to 16 hour days became more difficult for me," said Maturi, who choked back tears as he spoke. " ... We have a new president, and an old athletics director."

Added Kaler: "I plan to be here for a long time. And for me to develop a partnership with the next athletic director sooner rather than later made sense to me, and I think made sense to Joel."

The university plans to conduct a national search for a new athletic director using a search firm, input from Gophers coaches and community groups. Kaler cited several criteria he will look for in a new AD.

"Integrity, first and foremost," Kaler said. "Obviously I will look for someone with experience in D-1 athletics, and I'm looking for someone with good business acumen. This is a large sports entertainment activity in lots of ways -- we need to be smart about that."

Another criteria will be a candidate's stance on the support of a broad range of sports. "I do share a commitment to a broad range of sports," Kaler said, "we just need to look at the financial viability of doing that, and I'm sure that'll be an important element that the new athletic director will balance."

Kaler believes the athletic program must reflect an image of success on the university.

"It's success in running an ethical and violation free program," Kaler said. "It's success that the student athletes have as they go out into the community and into their lives. And it's success on the field, on the court, and on the ice."

Hallmarks of Maturi's career include the merger of the men's and women's athletic departments, the construction of TCF stadium and men's and women's hockey and wrestling national championships.

However, the native of Chisholm, Minn., might be best remembered for hiring Tim Brewster as football coach in 2007 after Glen Mason was fired. Brewster, who had been the tight ends coach for the Denver Broncos, proved to be in over his head and was fired midway through the 2010 season.

Maturi's decision to hire current coach Jerry Kill also wasn't very popular when it was announced. "I'm not naïve," said Maturi, who also fired men's basketball coach Dan Monson in late November 2006. "Some decisions were better than others."

The Gophers did not incur one Big Ten or NCAA infraction during Maturi's tenure. "I am not interested in a one-dimensional program that cheats and wins," Kaler said. "We're not going to do that."

Maturi was known as an athletic director who supported every sport at the university and could be frequently found at games for every team. He said that he turned down a contract extension offer 18 months ago from former university president Robert Bruiniks because he wasn't sure who would be the new president.

One of the first things the new athletic director will do is be involved in discussions of a contract extension for men's basketball coach Tubby Smith. Those talks have been put on hold until that hire is made.