Waded Cruzado had to fly to and from Salt Lake City last week. Montana State’s president had an important meeting on Tuesday to help the Big Sky Conference decide on a new commissioner following Doug Fullerton’s announcement of his retirement following 20 years at the helm. Cruzado caught a return flight home in part to make to Montana State’s faculty dinner that evening and partly so she could meet Kyle Brennan.
The last of five finalists to confirm an on-campus visit, Brennan made his way to Bozeman six days before Cruzado made a decision that will change the future of MSU athletics. On Monday, Cruzado announced Brennan as the sixth athletic director in Montana State history at a press conference at the Strand Union Building ballroom on the MSU campus.
“Kyle’s values of putting the student first, of aspiring for excellence both on the field and in the classroom, his ambition, and the great potential he sees in Bobcat athletics are well aligned with what all of us want for MSU,” Cruzado said in an MSU press release. “I look forward to working with him and seeing him lead Bobcat athletics to a new level of success.”
Brennan comes to Montana State after spending the last eight years as an associate athletic director at the University of Utah. Since 2014, he has served as the first deputy athletic director. Before that promotion, he spent three years as the special assistant to Utah athletic director Chris Hill, a veteran AD who has spent the last 30 years in Salt Lake City.
Brennan earned $197,794 in salary during his last fiscal year at Utah. Montana State spokesman Tracy Ellig said Brennan will have a base salary of $185,000 at Montana State his first year.
“Montana State athletics is on the cusp of something really special,” Brennan said as he addressed a group of 10 reporters following his introduction to the public. “We have to get people motivated and excited but it’s a great opportunity to take it to the next level.”
Former MSU Athletic Director Peter Fields, pictured here introducing new football coach Jeff Choate, led MSU athletics for 14 years/ By Brooks Nuanez
Brennan takes over for Peter Fields, a man who held MSU’s AD position since 2002. Under Fields, Montana State achieved unprecedented academic success, graduating student-athletes at a rate that exceeded the student body. Last calendar year, Montana State’s more than 350 athletes posted a cumulative grade-point average that exceeded 3.2. Fields helped spearhead fundraising efforts to expand and renovate Bobcat Stadium and a renovation of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. In February, Cruzado announced his contract would not be renewed once it expired on June 30 of 2016.
“Throughout this process, many, many people have asked me what it is exactly that I am looking for to fill this position. The answer of what I’m looking for is someone who can continue building upon the legacy of our past athletic directors spanning many years of dedicated service to MSU, culminating with Peter Fields,” Cruzado said during her introductory speech for Brennan. “To all of them, to Peter, thank you from the bottom of our Bobcat hearts.”
Brennan emerged from a pool of more than 60 applicants that was whittled down to eight semifinalists, then five finalists who came to Bozeman for on-campus interviews. The other four finalists were Wyoming deputy AD Matt Whisenant, Eastern Michigan deputy AD Christian Spears, Arizona State Sun Devil Club executive associate AD Cooper Jones and South Dakota State deputy AD Leon Costello.
Brennan seemed to have no hesitation in taking over an administrative staff that has worked under the same leadership for more than a decade or a collection of coaches ranging from track and field director Dale Kennedy, who has been at MSU since the early 1980s to head football coach Jeff Choate, who Fields hired in December of last year.
“I think it’s going to be challenging people to think creatively,” Brennan said. “I know the staff is capable of that. One thing you can’t replace even if you have been here a long time is passion. People that have been here a long time have that passion about Montana State athletics. We can use that to make us great.”
Kyle Brennan during his on-campus interview last week /by Brooks Nuanez
During his on-campus interviews last week and his interviews on Monday, Brennan mentioned fundraising and facilities frequently as top priorities. He specifically mentioned the need for an indoor practice facility for the football team, a new academic center for athletes and an expansion of MSU’s weight room.
“It’s going to take money and a community effort,” Brennan said. “For me, that means getting engaged not just in this community but nationally as well. We have a great team here at the university that can put us in touch with those folks. It’s going to take a lot of hard work but we are going to start right away getting after those people. They should be ready for me to come calling. I’m going to ask.”
The state of Montana does not allow tuition and fees to be used for athletic revenue or renovations. Instead, all money must come from ticket sales or funds raised in the private sector.
“It’s going to take ingenuity, we are going to have to be creative, we are going to have to work hard and we are going to have to win the trust of the people in this state and Bobcats throughout the country,” Brennan said. “We have to get connected with them, bring them back and get them interested in Montana State athletics again.”
Montana State women’s basketball coach Tricia Binford, the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year last winter after leading her team to its first outright Big Sky Conference crown, supported Brennan’s hire fully.
“We need someone to match President Cruzado’s competitiveness,” said Binford, who’s senior wing Riley Nordgaard was one of two student-athletes on the selection committee along with senior running back Chad Newell of the football team. “(Cruzado) has done an incredible job on the academic side. We’ve created winners in the classroom. Peter Fields has done a tremendous job of getting us to this place of high integrity. It’s a great opportunity for a new vision of matching of competitiveness of the academic side with the athletics side.
“I think Kyle is proven and I think he’s a perfect fit for Montana State and Bozeman. He’s family oriented and he’s excelling at Utah and he’s a winner. I think he’s going to be a tremendous leader.”
Binford is entering her 12th season at the helm for the women’s basketball program. She has only had one boss: Fields.
“It’s always going to be a transition but we are all life-long learners and we are all adaptable,” Binford said. “Peter is a dear friend and a great AD. It’s going to be fun to see the vision of Kyle Brennan taking us to the next level.”
Choate was not available for comment as he was on the road recruiting. Montana State head men’s basketball coach Brian Fish declined comment out of respect for Fields, the man who hired him in April of 2014.
University of Utah Deputy Athletic Director Kyle Brennan talks with community member and Bobcat donor Larry Aasheim last week/ by Brooks Nuanez
Former Montana State quarterback and assistant football coach Dennis Erickson is now the running backs coach on Kyle Whittingham’s staff at Utah. Erickson forged a relationship with the whole Brennan family during their time in Salt Lake City, particularly with Brennan’s middle son, Mac. The nine-year-old has battled leukemia the last few years and Erickson took him under his wing during the illness. Mac is now clear of the illness.
“Dennis has been a great family friend,” Brennan said. “My son, Mac, battled leukemia and Dennis was so good to him. He took him to practice every day, had him help be an assistant coach. He called me when I got this job and said, ‘We are in trouble now. We don’t have Coach Mac.’ He really encouraged me to look at this job because he is so proud of this place and it’s near and dear to his heart.”
Brennan also credited Hill for mentoring him during his eight years working for the successful and respected AD of the Utes. Brennan called Hill the best athletic director in the country and said he played an integral role in helping the 41-year-old become ready to lead his own athletic department.
Twelve years ago, Brennan and his wife, Beth — who works as the academic coordinator for the Utah football team — were living in Denver. Kyle was practicing law — he earned his law degree from Denver University after earning his undergrad at Calvin College — and Beth was working as the regional manager for Chase Bank. The couple decided they wanted to pursue jobs in college athletics so they moved to DeKalb, Illinois so Kyle could take a job as a graduate assistant making $4,000.
“It was the best year of our lives,” Brennan said. “We realized we were passionate about what we were doing and we were on the right track. When we made that move, we had a dream about a day like today where we could lead an excellent athletic program at a great school. There’s no where in the country we would rather be than right here at Montana State University.”
