BC begins new era with Martin Jarmond as AD

CHESTNUT HILL — Fresh-faced and eager to turn things around, Martin Jarmond was introduced as the new Director of Athletics at Boston College Monday afternoon.

The 37-year-old graduate of UNC-Wilmington comes to BC after seven years working with Gene Smith at Ohio State. He inherits a sports program that has shown signs of life across its 31 intercollegiate teams, but has struggled mightily to compete in the ACC in the revenue-generating sports of football and basketball.

"It all starts with people and that's the same no matter where you are," said Jarmond. "I have to get here and understand what we do and who I work with. Once I learn more I can start to form my plan and how I can help support, because at the end of the day as your athletic director, that's my job is to find support - how I can help each of our programs be competitive and win."

Jarmond, who exudes personality and confidence with an ability to connect with people, even joked with me during Tuesday's news conference.

"Tom - BC grad," said Jarmond. "We're going to be asking you for money."

The fun-spirited barb got a laugh in the room, and isn't untrue. One of Jarmond's biggest challenges will be capturing the support of a significant base of alumni that has become jaded since BC's move to the ACC and subsequent struggles on the field and on the court.

Attendance at Alumni Stadium and Conte Forum has fallen off drastically, thanks in part to strict policies on tailgating that negatively impact the game day experience on campus.

Jarmond will approach the issue head-on.

"You have to envision the customer from their home to when they get to Conte or Alumni," said Jarmond. "You have to see the whole process and understand what the challenges are that they're going to go through. So it has to be from when I leave, is (there) traffic, how do I navigate? When I park, where is parking? Parking usually is a challenge. You have to think through that. Every component of the experience starts when our customers, our fans, are at home. We have to think through how do we make it easy for them to come. How do we make it easy for them to come and engage with us?

"I'm very hands-on when it comes to the customer experience and so you have to think about it in a totality, not just when they arrive at the stadium or they're going to their gate."

Jarmond went on to say how critical it is to understand the fan base and the audience at each game, realizing a wide-range of fans, from students, to alums, to friends of the program all have different needs and the experience in many ways must please each group.

"It can be done, but you have to be really intentional with that experience and how you approach it," said Jarmond.

BC football coach Steve Addazio sees the program going in the right direction, but still behind the most successful schools in the country when it comes to facilities and amenities for the scholar-athletes.

In February of 2016, the school announced a $200 million grant would be used to pay for a new football practice facility, while the baseball and softball fields would move from Shea Field to the Brighton Campus, which used to be owned by the Archdiocese of Boston.

"The indoor facility, we'll be breaking ground next month," said Addazio. "That's been a huge deal for the four years I've been here. That, and an elite performance and weight room center. It's been something we really, really need."

"That was critical, that was huge," said Jarmond. "Something that administratively makes this an attractive opportunity."

Jarmond will finish his duties in Ohio through the month of May and will assume his new role at Boston College in early June.

Cox Media Group