AFA athletic director under fire

The Air Force Academy athletic program has gone through a tumultuous few years, with multiple coaching overhauls in its basketball program and a recent change at the top of its football program for the first time since the early 1980s.

The Falcons’ hockey team advanced to the NCAA Tournament this year, but the baseball program has had problems off the field and continues to stumble on it. And struggles with the budget have the department attempting to recast itself as a nonprofit organization.

Coincidence? Some participants think not, and they’re pointing fingers at a common denominator — athletic director Hans Mueh.

Mueh, who has been praised publicly by the academy’s leadership, declined several requests to discuss his leadership of the department, and the coaches involved are reluctant to criticize him publicly. But their comments and a Gazette examination of Mueh’s travel and expense records paint a picture of a man who is aloof from his coaches and has been inattentive to his job when some key decisions have been made.

A source who has worked with Jeff Bzdelik, who quit as men’s basketball coach April 3 to take the University of Colorado’s job offer, said Bzdelik and his staff felt Mueh didn’t work hard enough to keep his coach.

“He never put his arm around coach and said, ‘You’re my coach. You’re the guy I want,’” said the source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. “There was talk about coach going to Colorado back in December. I mean, hello?”

The academy superintendent, Lt. Gen. John F. Regni, denied that Bzdelik was dissatisfied.

“I talked to Coach Bzdelik before he made his decision,” Regni said. “He told me he had absolutely no problems with anyone or anything. He was given everything he asked for, everything he needed.”

Air Force athletic department spokesman Troy Garnhart said Bzdelik and Mueh spoke about Bzdelik’s future seven times in the past several weeks.

“Dr. Mueh felt from the getgo that he made it clear he wanted Jeff to be here,” Garnhart said. “Maybe it’s a perception thing. We talked about this. He was perplexed to hear some of this stuff. He said, ‘Man, how could he not know we wanted him here?’”

When Bzdelik was introduced as Colorado’s coach at a news conference April 4, he said “the most appealing aspect of the job was the people,” and he praised the Buffaloes’ “unparalleled” leadership.

Asked about Garnhart’s statement about seven conversations with Mueh, Bzdelik said, “That’s so far removed from the truth, it’s funny. And I’ll leave it at that.”

MORE THAN ATHLETICS

Mueh, now 63, earned two letters playing soccer while a cadet at the Air Force Academy and graduated in 1966 with a chemistry degree.

He came and went from the academy several times during his career in between other Air Force assignments. In 1972-73, he served as an intelligence officer in South Vietnam and Thailand. He received a doctoral degree in chemistry at Wisconsin in 1976. He returned to the academy for good in 1986, as head of the chemistry department and then served as vice dean of the faculty.

Mueh was faculty representative for the golf team and the football team and was the athletic department’s NCAA faculty representative.But he had no day-to-day leadership role in the athletic department until he was hired as director in August 2004 after Col. Mike Bloomfield backed out one month after accepting the job.

Regni said recently Mueh was “absolutely” the right person for the job.

“Sure, we’ve had a bit of a revolving door,” Regni said of basketball, “but let’s look at the total of the athletic department’s programs and see how we’re doing.”

There are only two vacancies among the 23 head coaching positions at the academy. Fifteen of the 21 head coaches have been in their positions for five or more seasons, including 10 who have been in them for 10 or more seasons. Fisher De-Berry was the longtime football coach until leaving after this past season.

The academy also pointed to the success the basketball team has had despite coaching turnover and the multitude of responsibilities Mueh handles outside of intercollegiate athletics.

“Don’t lose sight of what the athletic director does,” Regni said. “Less than a fourth of our cadets are intercollegiate athletes. Our athletic department is responsible for physical fitness, all the physical education programs, all the unarmed combat courses, water survival, cadet physical fitness tests, Air Force physical fitness tests, intramural programs. And they help us with character development through all those programs. So the intercollegiate piece is very visible, very important, but the job for our athletic director is much more encompassing than intercollegiates.”

Most major college athletic directors don’t have to concern themselves with the fitness of the entire student body. And, unlike most athletic directors, Mueh also has to deal with military issues including security at the academy, but planning is required of such a person.

A LOOK AT THE CALENDAR

Through the Freedom of Information Act, The Gazette obtained Mueh’s calendar and travel vouchers for the first 11 months of his time as athletic director, Aug. 2, 2004, through July 3, 2005.

Though Mueh’s calendar notes occasional racquetball matches and golf outings, nothing indicates a meeting designed to address potential security hurdles if the men’s basketball team was offered a chance to host a National Invitation Tournament game in March 2005 with only a few days’ notice. That seemed a likely possibility given that Air Force barely managed to get an at-large bid to the more prestigious NCAA Tournament one year earlier. When the 2004-05 Falcons faltered on the court — and couldn’t provide a home court — they were left out of the 2005 NIT.

Jack Powers, who was the NIT executive director at the time, told The Gazette in 2005 that security and contractual issues that limited the academy’s ability to host were factors in Air Force’s missing the NIT that year.

Security was tighter in 2005 than 2007, when Air Force was able to host three NIT games.

The academy discussed the possibility several times in 2005 with the NIT, Garnhart said.

“The NIT people wanted a guarantee that we would not have any security issues related to a game that would hurt ticket sales,” he said in an e-mail. “We couldn’t extend that guarantee, due to the force protection conditions on USAFA at that time.”

Mueh found time in 2005 for several trips — at government expense in most situations — that seem odd for someone facing pressing coaching decisions and juggling financial challenges in the department.

Mueh was in Phoenix for all or part of five days (Dec. 29, 2004 to Jan. 2, 2005) when Mountain West Conferencemember Utah played in the Fiesta Bowl. That trip cost the Air Force athletic department $1,293.01.

In March 2005, Mueh spent eight days with the men’s golf team on spring break in Monterrey, Calif., costing the athletic department $823.60. Garnhart said Mueh’s predecessors all went on the spring break trip at least once.

The athletic department has struggled to meet budgets in recent years to the point of selling a home football game to the University of Washington to raise cash. Mueh said he could not match Colorado’s financial offer to Bzdelik.

On May 2, 2005, the University of Richmond called Air Force seeking permission to talk to Bzdelik’s predecessor, Chris Mooney, about the Spiders’ basketball coaching vacancy. Mooney flew to Richmond for an interview and accepted the offer May 5.

On that day, Garnhart said Mueh was out of town and unavailable for comment. According to his calendar and expense vouchers, Mueh had flown to Phoenix on May 4 for the Fiesta Frolic, an annual event staged by the Fiesta Bowl to thank coaches and administrators for their support of the bowl game. In 2005, Fiesta Bowl officials expressed their gratitude in the form of free hotel rooms at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa.

Though Air Force never has played in the Fiesta Bowl, Mueh did have official business at the Biltmore. On May 4, the Mountain West Conference football coaches and athletic directors had a one-day meeting there.

But Mueh remained at the Biltmore on May 5, when Mooney announced his resignation, and on May 6, returning on May 7, according to his travel vouchers. He played golf in the Frolic outing.

Mooney declined to comment last week when asked about Mueh’s actions during that episode.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0365 or

jake.schaller@gazette.com

SERVICE ACADEMY ATHLETIC DIRECTORS

NAVY: Chet Gladchuk

Experience:

AD at University of Houston, Boston College, and Tulane; associate AD at Syracuse; assistant AD at Massachusetts; AD and football coach at Hampton (prep) School in New Hampshire.

ARMY: Kevin Anderson

Experience:

Associate AD at Oregon State and California; executive director of the YMCA of the East Bay (San Francisco); director of annual giving for the Stanford athletic department; San Francisco Education Fund; United Negro Fund; Xerox Corp.

AIR FORCE: Hans Mueh

Experience:

USAF brigadier general; Air Force interim AD; vice dean of faculty; professor and then head of the chemistry department; officer representative to the athletic department; soccer player as cadet at AFA.

HANS MUEH AT THE ACADEMY

July 29, 2004 -

Retired Mueh is hired as academy’s first civilian athletic director on one-year “emergency” basis.

Sept. 9, 2004 -

Football coach Fisher DeBerry signs a five-year contract extension.

May 1, 2005 -

Basketball coach Chris Mooney’s five—year contract — which had been negotiated, often contentiously, throughout the 2004—05 basketball season — goes into effect.

May 6, 2005 -

Mooney introduced as coach at Richmond; the academy did not include a buyout clause in his contract with the academy.

May 18, 2005 -

Air Force hires Jeff Bzdelik as Mooney’s replacement.

June 15, 2005 -

Mueh hired as AD.

Aug. 17, 2005 -

Mueh announces home-and-home football series with Florida State (2011 and 2012), DeBerry surprised when given word about it.

Nov. 24, 2006 -

Mueh gives DeBerry vote of confidence and says he told him to take responsibility from assistants before season.

Dec. 15, 2006 -

DeBerry resigns at hastily called news conference. Source tells Gazette coach forced to choose between retirement and firing coordinators.

Dec. 22, 2006 -

Troy Calhoun hired as new head football coach.

April 3, 2007 -

Bzdelik accepts job at Colorado.