Barney Hinkle announced Thursday he will resign as athletic director at Fort Lewis College effective May 1.
Hinkle joined FLC at the start of the 2017-18 school year to replace athletic director Gary Hunter, who resigned after six years. Hinkle cited professional accomplishments and family matters for his decision.
“It was very difficult to step down, and it’s been a very, very difficult past couple of months,” Hinkle said in an interview with The Durango Herald on Thursday. “There have been some issues that we’ve been trying to work through, but things just couldn’t get resolved in the way that we needed in order to move in a direction that I felt that we needed to go in as a department. So, I just felt it was time to really celebrate what we were able to accomplish, which was so much.”
Hinkle said it has been tough being away from his family. His wife, Karen Ann Latsko, has remained in San Diego, while Hinkle has been in limbo with the interim athletic director label during his time at FLC. He was originally hired by former President Dene Kay Thomas and has served under first-year President Tom Stritikus since August.
“I’ve been away from my family this entire time, so that’s been very trying,” Hinkle said. “My wife and family have been there for me throughout this entire process, and (my wife) knows how much I love this place and has supported me through every step.”
Stritikus was unavailable for an interview Thursday. The president will meet with the FLC athletics staff Friday morning before speaking with media about the future of the department. So far, Stritikus has been mum about his vision for FLC’s athletics. An email sent Jan. 17 requesting an interview about FLC’s football program after head coach Joe Morris’ departure has not been returned.
In a release sent to FLC staff and obtained by the Herald, Stritikus acknowledged Hinkle’s contributions.
“I want to thank Barney for the work he did on behalf of FLC athletics,” Stritikus said. “Athletics is an important part of the college experience, and I appreciate what Barney was able to do to enrich what athletics offers campus, fans and student-athletes.”
Since he arrived on campus, Hinkle oversaw the hiring of volleyball head coach Tricia Melfy, who led the Skyhawks to their first conference tournament appearance since 2013, and women’s soccer head coach Damian Clarke, the highly popular and successful coach who is in his second stint at FLC.
Two head coaches stepped down during Hinkle’s tenure: Men’s and women’s golf coach Guy Begay resigned in October and Morris, who left Jan. 16 to take a defensive coordinator position at West Texas A&M. Hinkle promoted Brandon Crosby to interim head football coach and Jim Foltz as interim head golf coach, and both have brought renewed energy to their positions.
Hinkle said he, along with FLC coaches and staff, have helped generate $1.6 million in outside funding from donors in his 17 months as athletic director. He also secured a partnership with Nike for the N7 Native American Heritage Month for the men’s and women’s basketball programs and rekindled relationships with local businesses and estranged alumni.
“It was very gratifying and rewarding to be able to walk into places and share my love and passion for FLC and Durango,” Hinkle said. “People were willing to drink the Kool-Aid with me, and we were able to accomplish a lot from a financial standpoint. Nothing was ever done by myself, for sure. It was a great team effort with the help of a lot of coaches, staff, others in the department who stepped up and did great teamwork to accomplish what we did.”
Hinkle said he hopes to accomplish more before May 1.
“Priority No. 1 is to finish out strong,” he said. “These student-athletes are the cream of the crop and are very high-achieving. I have loved interacting with them and want to see them end the year on a strong note, both from an academic and athletic standpoint.
“The other goal I still have is to steward the financial commitments that people have made in a very productive way under a time frame. It’s always been my goal to make the people and organizations who support us very happy and decided to contribute to FLC because they know that their money is going to go where they want it to go, and it’s going toward things they wanted it to go for.”
Hinkle played basketball at FLC from 1977-81 and sits as the school’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,522 points. He was inducted into the Fort Lewis College Hall of Fame in 1996 and was also named to the All-Century team.
After his storied career, he stayed in the sports industry and worked for the PGA Tour and sold and managed some of golf’s biggest sponsorships. He worked for 22 years with Anheuser-Busch to manage its golf programs and made successful marketing partnerships with some of the biggest sporting organizations in the country, including the National Football League, Major League Baseball, Olympics, NASCAR and the NCAA.
“It’s like, I have a 41-year relationship with Fort Lewis College and Durango, Colorado. All of it, thankfully, has been incredibly positive,” Hinkle said. “I want to work very hard to make sure that this continues in that wonderful tradition of positive vibes that I’ve got with Fort Lewis College, and I really want it to be that way.”
bploen@durangoherald.com
