Mike Alden, who ran MU’s athletic department for 17 years, has taken a job with Cleveland State University, the school announced Wednesday.
Alden, who stepped down from his job at MU in 2015, will serve as a “senior advisor” on athletics to the university’s president, according to a news release from the school. In that role, he is expected to lead the school’s sports and athletics operations, but only on an interim basis.
“Mike Alden has a tremendous history of success at multiple institutions and a national reputation for promoting athletic and academic excellence,” Harlan M. Sands, Cleveland State’s president, said in the release. “We are looking forward to having his advice and counsel on campus as we seek a permanent leader for Vikings athletics.”
Cleveland State’s current athletic director, Mike Thomas, will step down at the end of the year, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Alden, 60, is expected to report to work Feb. 1.
“I am looking forward to working with President Sands during this exciting time,” Alden said in a statement. “He is committed to building upon the success of CSU athletics, and I am committed to helping advance the cause.”
In July, it was announced that Alden would serve as a “senior advisor” on athletics to the president of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, according to the Kansas City Star. One of his priorities in that role was to increase fundraising.
Alden has several accomplishments on his MU resume. Under his watch, MU switched from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, the department’s budget increased from $13.7 million to $85 million and he hired the football program’s winningest head coach, Gary Pinkel.
But he also was in charge during some serious missteps. In 2014, ESPN revealed that MU didn’t follow proper Title IX protocol after former swimmer Sasha Menu-Courey said she had been raped. Another ESPN report alleged the university didn’t properly handle reports of possible assaults by former star running back Derrick Washington, who later pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
“Certainly, have we made some mistakes along the way? Absolutely we have,” Alden said at a press conference in 2015 announcing his retirement from Missouri. “Isn’t that what life is all about? It’s not all going to be perfect each and every day. … Are you humble enough to admit that?”