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Spending 28 years at one out-of-the-way, Midwestern Division III college seemingly has mundane written all over it.
Yet life is anything but routine these days for Bill Wagner at DePauw. That’s not solely because it’s been a typically prolific year for the Tigers, who were ranked in the top 25 in 10 different sports during 2013-14. Promoting all that is nothing his characteristic efficiency and 70-hour work week can’t accommodate. He churns out 17-page women’s basketball game notes as if he only had one sport to manage, not 23. He’s adjusted to all the new demands technology is throwing at SIDs, including social media and video editing. He’s even started to understand lacrosse.
But eight years ago, Wagner got married. And then, his wife, Shelly, had twins, Nadia and John, now age 3.
“Bill’s world was rocked,” says long-time DePauw men’s and women’s golf coach Vince Lazar, with a chuckle. “The first 20 years here, he was not married. This job was his life. But after the twins were born, he said to me, ‘Now I get it.’ He has a better understanding of what coaches with families deal with.
“But his workmanship has not changed. His perspective has changed, but his effort hasn’t. He does a good job of balancing family and his job.”
That Wagner is able to pull off that delicate balancing act that so many cannot, should not come as breaking news. And it’s among a myriad of reasons why the low-key but ever-friendly professional is entering the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.
“He anticipates really well,” Lazar says. “He’s been doing it long enough that nothing surprises him. He’s able to maintain that list of things that would be nice to do and the list of things he needs to do, and understands which jobs need to be a priority.”
And while Lazar has piloted DePauw to 12 straight NCAA Division III national women’s golf tournament appearances while also gaining a couple of men’s national team berths, he understands that Division III golf highlights are unlikely to l
and on SportsCenter anytime soon. Yet a post-tournament phone call from Wagner leaves Lazar feeling like maybe they should.
“He treats every sport with the same amount of respect and gives each the same amount of effort,” Lazar says
. “From a
coach’s perspective, as someone coaching a so-called minor sport like golf, that’s something I really appreciate.”
You’ll hear similar thoughts about Wagner from every corner of the campus.
“Bill has a tremendous passion for athletics and, specifically, for DePauw athletics and all the sports here,” says veteran men’s basketball coach Bill Fenlon. “He’s really a coach-friendly guy. He develops really strong relationships with all of our coaches and is someone you can rely on for anything you need. He knows what’s going on in your sport nationally, within the conference and internally at DePauw, and he’s able to synthesize all these things. He’s incredibly valuable.”
Wagner’s resume is extensive. He’s served as host media coordinator for more than 30 NCAA events including the 2001 Division III Men's Tennis Championships and the 2003 and 2010 Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, as well as four rounds of this year’s Division III women’s basketball tourney. He served as a venue media director at the 10th Pan American Games in Indianapolis in 1987 and assisted with media relations at the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Final Four in Indianapolis and the 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Midwest Regional at the Pontiac Silverdome.
He somehow wedges extensive service to his profession into his schedule as well. A district coordinator for the Academic
All-America® program since 2002, Wagner spent a term on the CoSIDA board of directors from 2005-08. And when the Division III Sports Information Directors of America (D3SIDA) organization was formed was formed in 2008, Wagner was quickly tabbed as the group’s founding president. (His was the only dissenting vote). He was given a two-year term, which somehow spanned three years.
CoSIDA Hall of Fame SID Dave Wrath of Augustana College (Ill.), the current D3SIDA president, first met Wagner at the Pan-Am Games in 1987 and has long admired his work.
“I think Bill Wagner exemplifies the classic one-man shop,” Wrath said. “He’s a fairly quiet guy who just produces on a day-to-day basis. He’s very efficient, very professional and runs a first-class operation.
“He stepped into a leadership position as our first president in D3SIDA and really was the one who got us off the ground. He just does so much behind the scenes and does it very well.”
Wagner earned a bachelor of science in business administration with a major in marketing and an emphasis on advertising and marketing research from Miami University in 1985 before obtaining a master of arts in sport management from The Ohio State University in 1986. He worked in the sports information offices at both schools.
The Tiffin, Ohio native also shares one trait in common with LeBron James: both became hugely successful after leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wagner spent a summer working in sales for the NBA club, although Wagner concedes the comparison falls short when monthly paychecks for he and James are examined, a fact he blames on not having the same agent. Wagner wouldn’t be comfortable in the media glare anyway. It might detract from his ability to make an arguably more meaningful impact, albeit anonymously.
“Bill always does a really good job of trying to make everyone else’s life a little easier, Fenlon says. “He’s a great example of a servant-leader. There’s nothing that’s beneath him to do. Everything he’s doing is designed to help us do our jobs a little better. Other people see that kind of work being done and it’s inspiring them to do a great job as well.”