Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Event Operations
Tim Blashill
by John Smith - July 5, 2023
Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Event Operations Tim Blashill says that the spring season, the last of the academic year, is easily the busiest part of his year.
“We see the ins and outs of every athletic program, meaning myself, Coordinator of Athletic Operations Steph Shaw and our Coordinator of Athletic Event Operations Josh Zuidema,” Blashill said. “We are in a unique position of practice and game setup, as well as having daily contact with our coaches.”
As the department’s facilities have undergone significant upgrades with the opening of the Center for Athletics Performance and Bulldog Arena, Blashill said a continuous balancing act is required to serve the entire department best.
“The last two years have been fruitful with the renovation and addition that CAP has brought us,” Blashill said. “Early on, we can see that this upgrade to our facilities is incredible. Still, scheduling is the largest and most difficult aspect of our role, giving each coach what they desire for practice time and meshing that with access for club sports, intramurals and public use by the community.”
Other enhancements include replacing the Top Taggart Field turf, upgrading the softball stadium and installing the synthetic field at the South Athletic Complex.
“While we planned for and worked around the development of CAP, and other Athletics facility advances, we did so with some changes in key personnel for this process,” Blashill said. “It has been an incredible learning experience for me, so I am thankful for the contributions of past athletic director Perk Weisenburger and our current AD, Steve Brockelbank, former President David Eisler and the great support we are seeing from President Bill Pink, along with Mike Hughes, who began on this work with us as associate vice president of Physical Plant, and now Chad Stirrett is working hard in that role, so outstanding support continues. All these leaders were great contributors to what has been an important advance for many of Ferris’ teams. I am excited for the future as we examine the remainder of our holdings in Bulldog Athletics.”
Blashill stressed that while he is in an administrative role focused on facilities, some peers, including Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Rob Bentley and others, are selfless regarding their commitment to each Ferris athletic program.
“It trickles down to a reality of giving of ourselves as best we can, regardless of what we have as our job description, to benefit the coaches and their players,” Blashill said. “We do our best daily to give them the support they need to focus on their work and being successful programs and competitors.”
Blashill said his role in Facilities and Operations provides the opportunity to support and honor each program, whether it is a Ferris varsity team or the many participants in the Big Rapids Area Hockey Association.
“Across Ferris Athletics, there is an incredible investment being made each day by our coaches,” Blashill said. “To me, excellence in our programs is defined by the day-to-day process of our coaching staffs and the hard work displayed by our student-athletes. We certainly work a lot of long hours/weeks, but our tradeoff is being able to witness and be a part of this day-to-day excellence. There is no better inspiration for being better professionally and personally.”
Blashill said his experiences before Ferris give him confidence in the work happening to succeed through the Athletics program.
“I have been around many athletic programs and am proud to be working in support of the best here,” he said. “I also appreciate that in trying to present excellence on the ice, or field or court, sometimes coaches and teams find themselves in a bubble. It means so much that our coaches support each other consistently here at Ferris. Their student-athletes see that and buy-in, as well. It makes our work and participating in their successes much more satisfying.”
Game experience efforts and activities for Ferris fans at the Ewigleben Ice Arena, Top Taggart Field, Wink Arena and the other Bulldog venues are also supported by Blashill and his staff.
“We are advancing in terms of offering game hosting during our hockey and basketball intermissions, with Bulldogs men’s tennis player Yannic Mader and Lydia Pink among our students on the mic,” Blashill said. “That has seen added emphasis from Steve Brockelbank and President Pink, which we feel significantly boosts our in-game experience, something our fans seem to enjoy.”
Blashill said even with the national titles for Ferris football and basketball in recent years, he can look to a championship-game defeat as a catalyst for the journey to excellence in the Athletics Department.
“I see Ferris hockey’s trip to the Frozen Four as that first chance in this modern era to benefit from national exposure,” Blashill said. “I believe it meant a lot in terms of growing all of our athletic programs and elevating the university, and certainly our other NCAA tournament participants and champions in the last 10 years continued to build Ferris’ stature. Basketball’s 2018 run was magical, and football has taken it to a new level, with their back-to-back national championships the past two years.”
Blashill is often on the go, morning into the night, but took a moment to reflect on how he came to Ferris as a graduate assistant hockey coach, continuing a family tradition, as his brother Jeff, now an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning became a full-time assistant on Bob Daniels’ staff.
“All of our family’s experiences because of Ferris have been so positive and rewarding,” Blashill said. “It has been a thrill to be close enough to follow Jeff’s successes in head coaching roles in collegiate, minor-league play and with the Detroit Red Wings, and it all began through his and my choice to come here. When I began, I thought my stay would be for one or two years, but youth hockey coaching and other opportunities kept presenting themselves. My dreams did not die, but they have changed, and I have really enjoyed my career path. I appreciate everything I do here. It is truly like being an assistant coach for 17 teams. I value the small impact we may have by assuring that the programs have every opportunity and benefit we can provide them.”
John Smith is the communications specialist for News Services and Social Media in
University Advancement and Marketing.
For others featured in the Faces of Ferris series, visit:
https://ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/faces/