March 9, 2011
MARTIN NEWTON
OPENING STATEMENT
"I need to start, first and foremost, with (Samford President) Dr. (Andrew) Westmoreland. I can't thank you enough for the opportunity you have given me to come back to my alma mater. I'm emotional and touched, and I appreciate that."
"You know, when I came back on campus for my interview, I was a little nervous. I don't know if it was because of the interview process that I was going to have to go through or the hill that (former coach) Mike Hanks, who I see here, used to make us run in preseason conditioning. I will tell you, after five minutes with Dr. Westmoreland, and I shared this with him, he put me so at ease and made me feel like I was home. You know, God puts those people in your life, at the right time. There are certain people who just get it. And I don't know what `it' is, but I know he gets it. And I'm so thankful for the opportunity to work here."
"(Samford Vice President For Business Affairs) Buck Brock - Buck and I got to know each other over the past few months and I probably drove him crazy to be quite honest with you. But after spending some time with Buck, the one thing that jumped off the page at me was the passion and love he has for this university. You see, for Buck, this is a want to, not a have to."
"I would be remiss if I didn't thank (former director of athletics) Bob Roller, and I think he deserves a round of applause. You see folks, Bob made this a really good job. He made this a job that a lot of people wanted, me included. You think about what he did - the transition to the Southern Conference, the facilities that he built, the coaches that he hired, the staff that he assembled. He left some really big shoes to fill. To be quite honest with you, I'm a little intimidated. I told Dr. Westmoreland also, there was a book I was reading, and one of the quotes in it that stood out at me was, `If the vision of your life isn't intimidating to you, then you're probably insulting God.' Well, this vision is a little bit intimidating but I've got a great staff and I can't wait to get started."
"I'd like to thank (Kentucky Coach) John Calipari for giving me the keys to the University of Kentucky basketball program while he coached the team. He basically said, `Look, you deal with the administration stuff and I'll deal with the coaching.' I'd like to thank Cal, not only for that, but for being a great friend."
"I'd like to thank Mitch Barnhart, the athletic director for the University of Kentucky, for answering probably, I know for the last two years, some of the dumbest questions he's ever had to answer. I really appreciate him letting me in on the university and getting to understand and getting a behind the scenes look at athletics."
"My dad - C.M. Newton - he's my mentor, he's my best friend. I've got to tell you, I don't know who is more excited, him or me."
ON FAMILY
"The great thing about them is that this is kind of a homecoming for them as well. All three of my children were all born here in Birmingham. In fact, our first house is about a mile from here behind campus over on Edgewood Boulevard. I want to thank them for allowing me to follow my dreams."
"If you can't tell, I'm excited to be here. And I'm excited for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it's an opportunity to come back to my university, a place where the decisions that I made as an adult, came from the education and the lessons I learned here at Samford University. It's an honor for me to give back to this school that gave so much to me. So I'm thrilled for that reason. I'm excited because of the people that I've met on my visit -Emily Hynds, Peter Neuberger, Michelle Durban, Wanda Lucas. But I tell you what put it over the top for me, and I'm sad they are not here right now, but the two student-athletes that were on the committee - Jeremy Towns, a football player from Dolomite, Ala., and Taylor Chao, a volleyball player from Miami. Wow, is all I can say. Folks, that's what Samford is all about. That's why I'm excited to be here, to serve them and the other student-athletes."
BUCK BROCK, SAMFORD'S VICE PRESIDENT FOR BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
"We intentionally did not name an official interim athletics director, so it would allow me to spend some more time over here to learn about a very important part of this university. It's been beneficial to me, but I know it hasn't been so easy for the people that work in this building."
"In late November, we formed a committee and started a national search for our next athletics director. We were assisted by a national search firm. The search committee was comprised of 12 members representing important constituents from student-athletes, coaches, faculty, friends of Samford athletics and alumni."
"Martin Newton's name came up early and often throughout this process. His business and marketing management background at Converse and Nike, as well as his experience on university campuses, most recently and currently with the University of Kentucky's basketball program, his broad national network built from years working in and around collegiate sports, he's a Samford graduate and a former student-athlete, he has understanding of Samford University and a commitment to this mission all combined to make him the ideal choice to lead our athletics program going forward."
"To paraphrase a quote from his father, C.M. Newton, in the local newspaper, `He is the right fit at the right time."
C.M. NEWTON, FORMER HEAD BASKETBALL COACH AT ALABAMA AND VANDERBILT, AND FORMER ATHLETICS DIRECTOR AT KENTUCKY
"I'm very, very proud to be Martin Newton's dad. He's excited and he should be because this is a tremendous university. It's a tremendous job and I'm very excited for him, because I think he's a great fit at the right time. "
"I watched Martin play here at Samford as a freshman, and then I got back into coaching at Vanderbilt, and actually had to coach against him. That was not an easy thing to do, but for him to come to this school at this stage in his life is very special to Martin and I know that. It should be. This is his school and it's a great university."
"I think the job Bob Roller and Dr. Andy Westmoreland have done here in terms of facilities and programming and staff have put everything in place to be successful in the Southern Conference. The thing that makes it difficult for me is to see and realize how difficult the Southern Conference really is. It is a very difficult conference to win, and yet they've made all the commitments here and hopefully Martin is the right person at the right time."
"I've always believed that timing is critical. He's not a builder of buildings, but he's a builder of people and I think he could use his contacts to bring in some big teams and opponents other than what is provided in the Southern Conference."
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT MARTIN NEWTON
MITCH BARNHART, UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ATHLETICS DIRECTOR
"I'm very happy for Martin and Cindy to have the opportunity to lead the department of athletics at Samford University. As people move on in their careers it's always exciting to be challenged in new ways. Martin has prepared himself well with his business background at Nike and the knowledge of intercollegiate athletics gained in the last two years here will certainly serve him well. I'm confident he will do a tremendous job with Samford and the city of Birmingham."
JOHN CALIPARI, UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH
"Samford University is not only bringing home one of their own, but they are getting one of the brightest and most progressive athletic administrators I have ever been around. Martin Newton has been a huge asset for the University of Kentucky basketball program over these past two years and on a personal level he has become a dear friend and trusted confidant. This is the greatest part of occupying the seat I have at UK - seeing our staff members reach their dreams and further their own careers. Everyone at UK wishes Martin all the best and we thank him for all his hard work and dedication."
