The Collegian was able to sit down and talk with the new Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics, Mark Whitworth for an exclusive interview. Whitworth was formerly the Associate Director of Communications at the SEC and holds a degree from Asbury University where he was an education major. We asked Whitworth to talk through his vision for the athletics program over the next 5-10 years, and he blew us out of the water. We believe his insight into what is needed for a successful collegiate athletics program was on point with what this school needs.
Whitworth stated that his goal for this program is to “make Asbury athletics the very best option nationally for a student who wants to pursue competition and obtain a Christian liberal arts degree.” He went on to outline his plans of how to make that happen, and he started by saying that it all begins by telling our story. As an athletics program, academically, as a student body, as Asbury University. “We need to depict where we are right now and tell where we are going,” he said.
He referenced the recent success of our sports teams when talking about where we are right now, namely, the women’s soccer team in their national tournament berth, men’s and women’s tennis in dominating their conferences and spending the season nationally ranked and men’s golf, which is going to make an appearance in the national tournament. Whitworth made it very clear that as an athletic program it is incredibly encouraging to see our sports teams competing for conference championships, but also that we should not be satisfied with just that. He envisions our athletic teams being a national force to be reckoned with, and that all starts with resourcing, a term he kept repeating.
What exactly does resourcing mean? More funding for scholarships, budgets for travel and equipment, more assistant coaches and essentially “providing the means” for success. He again stated that he was proud of all that this school has achieved but was adamant in saying, “I didn’t come to maintain, I came to build.”
As the VP of Intercollegiate Athletics, which is a new title here at Asbury, Whitworth holds a bit more leverage with the higher-ups. Whitworth’s position is designed to represent student-athletes more than what they were, as this position gives him a spot on the Asbury Cabinet, meaning that he answers directly to Dr. Gray. He said “30% of the student body are athletes […] Dr. Gray made it clear that it’s only appropriate that whoever oversees the athletic department, should have a role of a Vice President.”
One of the biggest things that we appreciated about our time spent with Mr. Whitworth was his willingness and even excitement to be involved with the rest of our student body. He wants to engage the student body in a way that the athletic program has failed to do in recent memory. He wants to make Asbury athletic events a place where students want to come and support their friends and have a blast while doing it. We asked him what were some tangible goals that he wants to set in order to make this happen. With a smile, he listed off ideas including creating a pep band, giveaways, utilizing vendors and sponsors that want to come give away food and gear. Another cool thing he wants to start doing is recognizing students that achieve in other areas off the field by introducing them at halftime or inviting them to throw out a first pitch. His main goal in the relationship between athletes and the rest of the student body is to create unity as students. Whitworth stated firmly “It’s not us and them, it’s us. If there is a gap, we will bridge that gap.” Through all of this, he wants to make AU a tough place to come play for opposing teams, while creating a strong sense of unity among the students.
Whitworth has already begun his duties in a big way. He has met individually with each head coach and asked them each what they need to build their program, and he also asked them to dream of what their program could be. It’s an exciting time for the athletic department, as well as the university as a whole.
