New AD hopes to increase Rhody fan base

With the frame of a former college football player, the University of Rhode Island's new Athletic Director Thorr Bjorn is an intimidating presence but his big smile gives him away as he has been a breath of fresh air for the University's athletic department.The resignation of former Athletic Director Tom McElroy last October ended a rocky time for an athletic department that had fractured under his time as AD. When the University began advertising the position in April, the ability to work well with the department was important.

"We needed a person who could be a healer and [Thorr] had the perfect personality to do it," URI President Robert L. Carothers said. "We wanted to bring the fractions back together in the athletic department."

Bjorn not only brings his years of experience at University of Massachusetts in Amherst, but also a likable personality and the ability to work with others to bring the department together.

"Every person that has met him has liked him," Carothers said. "He has done very well. He has met with everyone in the department and heard their ideas. He is a great listener."

For Bjorn, his first weeks on the job have gone very well and the passion of the school has really impressed him.

"It's been great," Bjorn said. "I've been to a number of meetings and receptions and people have been extremely positive and extremely supportive."

Rhode Island was looking for a person with experience at a comparable institution and with a background in marketing, Bjorn fit that to a T. He was entering his fourth year as the senior associate athletic director at UMass when he was officially hired on July 25. With UMass in the Atlantic 10 Conference with URI, Bjorn knew the school well and had an extensive history with successful marketing.

"Coming from the same conference, I had heard about the job and it caught my eye," he said. "It was certainly at the top of my list of schools that I would want to work at, reason being that it's so similar to my experience at UMass."

Attracted by the strong programs and traditions, and the beautiful location, Bjorn interviewed for the position. His background and interview focused on bringing the department and fan base together. He stressed in his interview that the Rhode Island athletic program wasn't broken, but there were things that could be done differently.

"He had a great deal of depth of knowledge," Carothers said. "He had a lot of ideas on how to market the program."

Being hired by URI ended Bjorn's 14 years at UMass, where he had attended school, met his wife and worked at. UMass had been home for a long period of time, but for Bjorn the opportunity at URI was worth the move.

"I would have never left for just any AD position," Bjorn said. "It would have to be the right position so although I'm going to miss the people there, my six weeks here have been fantastic. I have met a lot of wonderful people and already I feel like a part of this community."

The biggest surprise for Bjorn in his time at URI has been the passion for the school's athletics and that passion is vital for what he wants to see from the program.

"We want to win," Bjorn said. "We want to win national championships. We want to win conference championships. Winning is important and at this level it's very important. We want to win the right way and provide our athletes with a fantastic experience, but anyone who says winning isn't important isn't telling the truth."

One of the keys for any college program is the support of its alumni and donors, which is something that Bjorn has found to be one of the school's strengths.

"I am so surprised at the donors who are willing to give not only their dollars but also their time," he said. "I've been amazed at how people are willing to put their money where their mouth is. They're going to demand a lot because of that but they have that right. That has been the most pleasant surprise for me and I think is so fantastic and it is something that we can all be proud of."

The biggest projects for the new athletic director early on are fundraising and the upcoming Student Athlete Development Center. The center, which was planned before Bjorn was hired, will be a new addition to the current athletic facilities that will include a varsity weight room, strength and conditioning area, athletic training area and an academic support area.

"The [Student Athlete Development Center] was on the table prior to me getting here and I got really excited about it right from the start," Bjorn said. "From a fundraising perspective it is our main goal right now. Those are three areas that are critical to the athletic experience. We need to go out and get that done and I feel confident that we'll do that."

Even without construction of the Center, in Bjorn's eyes URI has great facilities and he wants the rest of the University to see that as well.

"I think one of the biggest things that I keep impressing upon our coaches and our staff is that we have some pretty great facilities here and we've got some great things to recruit towards," Bjorn said. "We have some great facilities but each facility has some needs. We need to find the donors who are interested in helping these projects. To get these projects to work you need to get that support from private donors."

Fundraising and marketing were one of the main reasons that Bjorn was hired and he plans on putting his experience to good use. He wants to improve the school's athletic programs by bringing in more fans, more advertisers and more money

"One of the things that I'll be focusing on is fundraising," Bjorn said. "I'm looking more on the external side of things in terms of getting people to come to games and raising money for our Student Athlete Development Center . I think what we need to do is go out and sit across the table from [a potential sponsor] and tell them where we're coming from. We bring in a very attractive demographic. Finding ways to reach out to students is very difficult and that's what we bring in. Once basketball becomes even more successful and we're filling up the Ryan Center every time that brings in more eyes."