NIU introduces its new athletic director

If anybody knows new Northern Illinois athletic director Jeff Compher's strengths and weaknesses, it's Todd Turner.

When Turner served as athletic director at North Carolina State, Vanderbilt and Washington, he made sure Compher became a key member of his administrative team.

"When I went to Vanderbilt, he was the first guy I talked to," Turner said. "When I came to Washington, within five minutes of getting the job I called him.

"People really like to work with him. He's got a great self-deprecating sense of humor and he's fun, but he's tough when he needs to be tough.

"There's no bad to that guy. He is a really top-notch human being and terrific leader."

Compher, 49, who was in charge of the Washington athletic department's day-to-day operations with direct oversight of football and men's basketball, was introduced Tuesday as NIU's successor to Jim Phillips.

"Everyone I talked to around the country sang his praises," said Northern Illinois president John Peters, who conducted seven interviews away from campus as part of the search process. "He's highly recommended."

Compher flashed his self-deprecating side when he joked about his non-illustrious career as a 205-pound defensive end for James Madison in the late 1970s.

"I was an OK lineman for Divison III, but James Madison went to I-A," Compher said with a laugh.

Though his football-playing days waned, it allowed him to get a jump-start on a lifetime working with students.

Compher served as a residence hall assistant at James Madison. After earning his Master's degree at Shippensburg University in 1982, he began working in North Carolina State's Housing and Residential Life office.

That's when Compher's path crossed with Turner's - and a life in athletics administration was born.

In addition to stops at prominent schools in the SEC and Pac-10, Compher spent 2000-04 as Western Carolina's athletic director where he encouraged a large increase in donations and led the charge to build several new athletic facilities.

"Because of my understanding experience, I think I can lead in a lot of ways that will help build upon the work that has already been done at Northern Illinois," Compher said. "I've come into situations where we've had to totally reshape a department, build a new culture.

"But it's much easier coming into a situation like this where you can move forward with a positive culture that already exists."

Compher will assume the job in early June. Until that time, Robert Collins continues as the interim AD.