On March 13, Paul Krebs announced that he would be stepping down as the Athletic Director at BGSU and will be taking the same position at the University of New Mexico. Since that date, the wheels have been in motion to fill the vacancy left by Krebs and his 25 years of athletic administration experience.

Those in charge of appointing the new A.D. understand the importance of filling this position with the most qualified candidate.

“This is a critical position for the University,” said Vice President of Student Affairs, Ed Whipple. “Certainly, the director oversees a large athletic program and must be able to handle a significant budget, work with the coaches and ensure our student athletes are doing well academically.”

The responsibility of keeping these wheels in motion fell to Whipple after Krebs left BG. Whipple then, in turn, named Associate Athletics Director Janna Blais the “Deputy Athletic Director,” who will be running the day-to-day operations of the department. At that point, the University identified a firm to run the search for a new director.

Although no names have yet been announced, the firm will be releasing a list of candidates in the next two weeks. After that, it will be up to Whipple and President Sidney Ribeau to appoint the right person for the job.

Even for the most qualified candidate in the field, taking over the position in the shadow of Krebs will be no easy task.

“Mr. Krebs hired excellent coaches, he focused on academic support for our student-athletes, he balanced the budget, he provided a vision for athletics at BGSU and most importantly, he brought the athletic program into the mainstream of campus life,” Whipple said.

Along with his accomplishments on campus, Krebs helped to expose BG athletics to the country.

“Seasons were up and down, but Krebs worked with that,” said Undergraduate Student Government President, Bernard Little. “It’s important to keep [national exposure] going, because in turn, people around the country start noticing BG.”

Despite the positive impact left on campus by Krebs, obstacles remain for the new director of athletics.

“Given the lack of state funding for higher education and today’s cost to attend the university, the budget and fundraising will be high priorities,” Whipple said.

Currently, there is no timeline on the when BG will hire its new athletic director.