Between Two Desks with Maria Buckel

Welcome to Between Two Desks, an interview series where St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Commissioner Dr. Dick Kaiser talks with Athletic Directors from around the league. Throughout the series get to learn more about each school's AD, how they got to the position they are in, and why they love working in athletics. Today we meet Maria Buckel, Vice President for Athletics at Fontbonne University.

Ok, so just how many people do you actually know that were a full-fledged collegiate Athletic Director when they were only in their 20's? Well welcome to the administrative world of Maria Buckel, the Vice President for Athletics at Fontbonne University, and I recently had the opportunity to speak with Maria in an extended interview and these are some excerpts from that discussion.

Where did you grow up initially and call your home town?
I grew up on a farm in the small community of Oran, Missouri, and in fact, my folks still live there and my dad works the farm. I think the total population of Oran was around 1200 people. It was a 1-A school and we had 32 individuals in my high school graduating class. So when I decided to come to Fontbonne to go to college, it allowed me to gain a brand new identity.

Where did you attend high school and did you participate in high school athletics?
I attended high school right in Oran. I played volleyball, basketball, and softball. I'd say in high school that basketball was my favorite sport and then volleyball. I was fortunate to receive All-State honors for basketball. l played a lot of travel basketball with AAU but I became better at volleyball as I reached college because the coaching was outstanding.

Where did you attend college and did you participate in college athletics?
I attended Fontbonne from 2002 to 2006 and graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration. I almost got a second major in graphic design while I was in school, but ended up being just a few classes short. I got my masters at Southeast Missouri State in higher education with an emphasis in athletic administration in 2008. I was a graduate assistant in the education department plus I helped coach my high school team during my time at Southeast Missouri State. Athletically, I played two sports in college. In basketball, I was asked to be a major part of the defensive scheme and I played all four years. The volleyball team is where our teams had their most success and were pretty dominant. The team was 51-5 in SLIAC conference play and we played in 5 NCAA tournament games during my career.  

How long have you been at Fontbonne University?
I have been at Fontbonne for a total of 14 years. I spent 4 years here as an undergrad and then I have been here a total of 10 more years within the Athletic Department as a full-time employee. I came as an associate AD in 2010 and then got the AD position in 2011.

What convinced you to go into athletics as a profession?
I realized late in my undergrad career that I wanted to be in higher education. In fact, I didn't even apply to be in graduate school as a G.A. until just two weeks before I graduated with my undergrad. I think I realized I enjoyed the collegiate experience and I wanted to work in that type of environment. I viewed athletics as a positive pathway to achieve that goal. I really enjoy serving others and as the Athletic Director, you really get the opportunity to be involved and potentially be very influential in so many lives.

Within your resume, where were your most important professional stops along the way that helped you?
While I was working on my masters at Southeast, I saw where there was an NCAA Career event being held in Orlando so I drove a car all the way to attend. It was an eye-opening very positive event that allowed me to know what I wanted to do. I attended a job fair and got a position with the American Junior Golf Association. It was one of the most intense interview processes I've ever gone through and I was fortunate to come out on top.  Working with the AJGA was a great experience learning how to work with so many people, organize venues, and then stage major events as a tournament director. At Evansville, my first true athletic administration full-time position, I got the chance to do just about everything. My official title was Assistant Athletic Director for External Affairs but we were a small office and basically were involved in every facet of running a collegiate athletic department. I would say it was one of the biggest learning curves of my career.  Lastly, becoming the AD at Fontbonne at the age of 26 was a major factor. I basically got thrown into the fire and I had to learn by my experiences that I encountered every day on the job.

Are there any specific individuals that feel were great mentors that helped you along the way?
My parents were my number one influences and they were just great to have as role models. My dad was not just a father, but also an entrepreneur with the family farm while my mom has worked at the same hospital lab for 45 years. At Fontbonne, Coach Lee McKinney was a huge mentor to me. He showed me how caring people could and should be to each other. Dwight Merilatt was my immediate boss at Evansville as the Associate AD. He currently works as the Deputy Athletic Director at Illinois State. Another influential individual at Evansville was Rob Mallory. He was not only a colleague but like a brother to me. We worked together on so many projects during my time at Evansville and he currently is the AD at Kentucky Wesleyan. The last individual would be Julie Cromer, the current AD at the University of Ohio. I met her through Women's Leaders in College Sports and she allowed me to shadow her for almost two full days which was invaluable.

What do you find most rewarding within your position as the Athletic Director?
One of my favorite parts of the job is to watch the development of the student-athletes and then the coaches that work at Fontbonne. I think about how I changed in my 4 years as an undergrad here and I see so many of the student-athletes go through the same types of change and growth. As for the coaches, we have a tendency to hire a lot of first-time head coaches here, and unfortunately, we don't always get to keep them very long. I've had to learn how to adjust my hiring practices to look at candidates that may present a longer tenure here, but I enjoy the process. 

Not counting the pandemic, what have you found to be the most taxing as it relates to your position?
I think one of the hardest parts of being an AD is trying to be all things for all people. For me, I'm a wife, mother, and an AD that is responsible for a lot of people. It is often very difficult to navigate all those responsibilities at one time and be fair to all. I've had to learn to not be overly critical of myself for not being at every game or every event. It was obviously easier before my daughter was born, but now that responsibility has changed my priorities to some degree. As an AD, you just can't go home and turn off the job, it is on your mind constantly.

As a coach or administrator, what has been a real highlight in your career?
One of the highlights is still hearing from both student-athletes and coaches that attended or worked at Fontbonne. So many times there is a common theme they mention and that is they didn't realize how good they had it here during their time at Fontbonne. 

What advice would you give to every student-athlete about their college experience?
I would say first, be kind to yourself and do all that you can to enjoy your experience here at Fontbonne. It's going to be some of the best 4 years of your life, so take it all in and make the most of it. Secondly, I would tell them to continually attempt to build both your existing relationships but also seek new ones. The friends they will make in college will end up being life-long.

Finally, as we close this Q & A, please tell me about your family.
My husband, Chris, and I have been together for 9 years. He is a civil engineer that does a lot of bridge inspections throughout the region. His travel and the expectations of my job make our balancing of our home responsibilities, especially after Lyla-our daughter was born just 2 years ago, very interesting at times. Chris has been very supportive of my career and together we make it work. Lyla is a new factor that has really changed our lives. When she was born, she spent the first 14 days in the NIC unit so it was a very stressful start. Today, she is a vibrant-high energy young lady that keeps us both going.

- #SLIACtion -