Meet the new AD at Delaware, first woman in the post

NEWARK, Del. - Chrissi Rawak never set a university athletic director's job as her top professional priority.

"I never managed my career that I want to be X," Rawak, the University of Delaware's new athletics director, said in a recent interview in her office. "If you focus on being X, you lose out on a lot of opportunities around you."

Rawak, 46, was an outstanding swimmer for Germantown Academy and Team Foxcatcher. Later, she swam for the University of Michigan.

"(At GA), I swam with a lot of Olympians and world recordholders," Rawak said. "They made me better. That's where I learned about being part of something bigger than yourself."

Rawak is Delaware's first female AD. She succeeds Eric Ziady, who departed the university at the end of 2015. According to NCAA figures, there were only 33 female athletics directors among the approximately 350 Division I schools last year.

"At a (recent Colonial Athletic Association) conference, I was the only woman at the table," Rawak said. "My entire career, that (being the only woman) doesn't faze me. I don't think about gender: I think I'm a professional. I'm proud of (the Delaware position) but it's all about capability and experience."

While Rawak doesn't think about gender, some of the university's female athletes and others she interacts with will look at her and think, "I can be what she is."

After graduating from Michigan in 1992 with degrees in sports management and communications, she worked in the university's athletic department. She also was an assistant swimming coach.

From 1998 to 2004, Rawak worked in Northwestern University's office of alumni relations and development. She then returned to Michigan to work in its office of talent management and development. Since 2011, she has served in several roles in Michigan's athletic department.

Referring to her time as an assistant swim coach at Michigan, Rawak smiled and said: "I was a better coach than swimmer. I learned a ton about what kind of leader I wanted to be. I'm a coach at heart."

During the interview, Rawak smiled and laughed a lot. On the job for just over one month, she already seems comfortable at Delaware, although she is juggling some family issues. Her son Blake, 19, is finishing a gap year between high school and college. Daughters Evelyn, 13, and Grace, 10, are back in Ann Arbor attending summer camps. Husband Glenn Hill, a former Michigan gymnast, is working on relocating his medical sales business to the Mid-Atlantic region. The family must decide on schools to attend and where to live.

Working at Delaware wasn't on Rawak's radar. But when the position surfaced, she was all-in.

"I love interviewing. It's an opportunity to engage," she said. "(You ask) 'Who am I? What do I believe in?'

"I am thrilled and honored to be here. This is a special place. It has exceptional academics; it has tradition and passion."

Rawak said new Delaware president Dennis Assanis "has (a) great vision for the university, and athletics is part of it."

She said it's "way too early" describe her vision for Delaware sports, but added, "we will win with integrity, on the field and in the classroom."

One of the premier football teams in the CAA not long ago, Delaware has had only one winning season in the previous four.

Tops on her agenda was hiring a men's basketball coach. The position remained vacant for two months after Monte Ross was let go. Delaware wanted to wait until a new AD was hired. Just before Ross was dismissed, the Blue Hens' best player, Kory Holden, transferred to South Carolina. Several other Blue Hen players have indicated interest in transferring.

Martin Ingelsby, a former Archbishop Carroll and Notre Dame player, has been hired. Ingelsby was an assistant coach on Mike Brey's staff at Notre Dame, and was highly recommended by Brey, who coached at Delaware from 1995-2000 before moving on to Notre DameBefore Ingelsby was chosen, Rawak said the first group she wanted to meet with was the men's basketball team.

"I wanted them to know we were committed to finding the best coach for them," she said.

Rawak is serious about her new job, but she doesn't take herself too seriously.

"It's not Chrissi's bus, it's the university's bus," she said.

Another reason the Blue Hens job is appealing is its location: Delaware brings her back home to her favorite pro sports teams.

"I'm not a fair-weather Philly sports fan. I'm with them good, bad and ugly," she said, smiling again. "In 1983, when the Sixers won the NBA championship with Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Moses Malone and Bobby Jones, I cried I was so happy."

Spoken like a true Philly fan. Now, she's also a Blue Hens fan.