Fresno State Athletics
Shields Retires After 25 Years at Fresno State Athletics
4/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
FRESNO, Calif. - For nearly three decades, Teena Shields has been the face and voice of the Director of Athletics Office at Fresno State. For as visible as her position is, she is leaving the department without fanfare -- just the way she wants it.
Shields is spending her last week on the job at Fresno State wrapping up a few projects and recounting many memories in her 25-year career, most of which was serving as the executive assistant to the director of athletics. She will retire from the university at the end of April.
During her career, which began working for the Bulldog Foundation in 1980, she worked under nine different athletics directors.
Among her many daily duties, she assisted the director in a variety of areas, including scheduling and keeping track of a busy schedule. She also served as the liaison to the campus Human Resources division and advised the department on the ever-changing policies and practices. No one was hired in the department without Shields' fingerprints on the paperwork. She was the caretaker of the ever-changing policies and procedures manual and served as the link to a variety of constituency groups like the Athletic Council, Gender Equity Monitoring Committee and Athletic Corporation Board.
In her early career, she was responsible for tracking all scholarships, keeping a financial ledger by using a pencil and calculator.
Shield has seen a lot of growth and change over the past 25 years. For many years, she handed out every scholarship check to the student-athletes. When she first started, the athletics department had around 50 employees and 250 student-athletes. Today, 125 employees serve nearly 600 student-athletes.
"We used to have a great 'family' atmosphere," said Shields. "But the department grew so much so fast that today we have three times as many employees and student-athletes. When I started, we had co-ed badminton as a sport. Things have changed. Because of that and the physical growth, we have become very fragmented. I remember when the basketball team won the NIT and we had fire trucks and a parade. We closed all of the offices and the whole department was there to celebrate. We can't do that today with the all of the daily operations we have. I miss those days, for sure."
A native Oklahoman, Shields worked for Russ Sloan in the Bulldog Foundation office before moving with him when he became the athletics director. Since then, Shields has been a fixture in the athletics director's office. She had the ear of the AD on a daily basis and she was excellent at judging what needed to reach the director's desk and what could be delegated to other areas of the department. Her communication skills were battle tested, dealing with the general public, coaches, student-athletes and members of the media.
"It was a scary position," she said. "I had to supervise two people who were at least 10 years older than me. I never thought I would stay for 25 years."
Shields has seen countless coaches, administrators and student-athletes come and go. She's also seen plenty of her bosses come and go, in all serving under five different athletics directors and four interim directors.
"I trained them well and they all moved on to better jobs," she joked.
She offered these memories about each of the athletics directors she served:
Russ Sloan: "The biggest perfectionist to ever work in the office."
Gus Graham (interim): "He enjoyed vampire books and playing Donkey Kong."
Jack Lengyel: "He belonged in the military. He would have made an excellent general. Jack was the wildest driver I've ever seen."
Bob Van Galder (interim): "He was the reluctant AD. He never wanted the position but he did a good job."
Gary Cunningham: "A true gentleman. He was very intellectual and remains a true friend to this day."
Ben Quilian (interim): "He never understood athletics until he had to come into the department and sit in the AD chair."
Al Bohl: "He saw some talents in me that no one had before and for that I'll always be grateful."
Scott Johnson: "He's a dear friend and confidant. We have over 20 years of history together."
Paul Oliaro: "Dr. Oliaro is the only interim AD who never tried to do two jobs at the same time. He has fully immersed himself in the position."
Sloan went on to become the President and CEO of the St. Petersburg, Fla., Chamber of Commerce.
Lengyel and Cunningham each moved on to notable careers in athletic administration, each receiving national awards for service to intercollegiate athletics. Lengyel served as athletics director at Missouri, Navy and Colorado. Cunningham is the athletics director at UC Santa Barbara.
Bohl left Fresno State to become athletics director at Kansas while Johnson recently retired after over 20 years in the Fresno State athletics department.
Shields saw many changes over the quarter of a decade, the most significant were advancements in technology.
"I remember when we got our first computer," she said. "It was a word processor and sat in the corner. No one used it. We wanted to keep using our typewriters. Jack Lengyel brought computers to the department and made us use them. I can't imagine what we'd do today with out them."
She also recalls one of the most significant eras in Bulldog history. In the early 1990s, the Office of Civil Rights began an investigation into inequities on the Fresno State campus. According to Shields, that investigation and ensuing department policy implementation changed the department forever.
"It was a tough time," she said. "That event created such division in the department, like stories you hear about the Civil War. It pitted brother against brother and sister against sister. It's such a shame that we all didn't work together and embrace the project, but people were so territorial and it really divided the department. But look at the results, my gosh. Our women's sports and programs have really grown and benefited because of it. We have so many women's programs that are now nationally recognized from equestrian to softball to tennis. It was a great achievement but it didn't have to be as painful as it was."
Several legendary coaches left a lasting impression on Shields.
"Boyd Grant was a true gentleman," Shields said. "He always treated people with such great respect. Jim Sweeney was such legend. There were days when you would love him and days you would hate him. I remember when they (football coaching staff) moved over to the Duncan Building. The football offices used to be where the media relations office is today. We missed having him on this side of Cedar. That's when the department started really growing and became more fragmented."
While she has touched the lives of countless student-athletes, two football players, Chris Pacheco and Brad Bell, are among her favorite former Bulldogs.
"Chris was such a hard worker as a nose guard," she said. "He had such a Bulldog mentality and he still does today in everything he does for the department. Brad was such nice and smart kid. He has a spiritual strength that I've always admired."
Retirement will find Shields and husband, Ken, traveling and searching for a retirement home. She is looking forward to spending time working on a few homes to "fix up" and to finish writing a novel that her procrastination has prevented.
"It (retirement) is so surreal," she said. "It feels like I started working here15 minutes ago. I keep telling everybody to enjoy each minute of each day because they go by so fast. I wish someone would have told me that 10 years ago and I would have cherished them more. I will miss the people the most. I will miss the 'old timers' I have worked with for many years and I will miss the new people, who I hope will find Fresno State to be a great place to have a career."
