VCU Ram Report

DIANNE LONG Senior Secretary for Men's Basketball If you want a detailed history of VCU Basketball, the really good stuff, that is, you won't find it in any book or website. The best source of information of VCU men's hoops is Rams' longtime senior secretary Dianne Long. In 29 years, she's worked for seven head coaches - from J.D. Barnett to Shaka Smart - and seen it all. A native of Mechanicsville, Long learned that VCU had an job opening for a basketball secretary from longtime Rams' supporter Gene Rosen in 1984 and has been with the program ever since. RR: Did you ever think you'd be doing this for this long? DL: No, but I am glad I have had this opportunity, as I love VCU Athletics. I have had the opportunity to work with seven head coaches and different administrators. It has been a pleasure to work with the different staff members as the change that comes with each new staff brings on new excitement. RR: What is it about the job that has kept you here for this long? DL: The people. The players, the coaches, the staff members and the fans. It's something new every day. RR: What does a normal day include for you? DL: Most days include a lot of travel related items; Approvals to get the players and the coaches where they need to be and processing the reimbursements per policy. Travel includes team travel, recruiting for each coach, and official visits for prospective student-athletes. Then you add in speaking engagements, answering telephones, Coach's schedule, etc. At this point in the year, it's a lot of correspondence dealing with autographs, school projects from March Madness, promotional requests and more speaking engagements.  RR: How has the job changed over the years? DL: Technology has changed how we do everything. Recruiting rules change every year. We used to send out letters to everybody. Now we send out emails to everybody and different recruiting mailings about VCU. Film exchange was actually sending VHS tapes out in the mail and now game film is sent electronically. When I started here, men's basketball had one graduate assistant and one manager. Now we have five graduate assistants and five managers. It's a lot more intensive now as there are a lot more demands and requests due to the success of the program.  DL: My favorite player is George Byrd. That's because he spent a good amount of time talking to me in the office. That was in Franklin Street, where the players had to come in every day and check their mailboxes in the days before email, and George would simply hang out. George was a social butterfly. After George it would be a toss up between Lionel Bacon, AKA "Lionel Monster" and Rodney Ashby as they always made time to entertain my daughters. RR: How has the program grown since you started at VCU? DL: I learned to get on the first trip for the NCAA Tournament. Don't wait for the next round. I didn't go to Albuquerque in 1985 because I wanted to go to Denver, Colo. Needless to say, it didn't happen. The next time VCU made it to the big dance, I was on the first ticket!  Editor's note: VCU was the No. 2 seed in the West Region in 1985, but was upset in the Round of 32. The Rams did not return to the NCAA Tournament until 1996. Long learned her lesson. She's been to every one of VCU's NCAA Tournament appearances since.   DL: The Athletic Department has grown from a small family where we had probably 20 or 30 people, to the size of the department now (over 100 people). Even though we have the same number of head coaches, we have many more assistants, administrators and support staff. When I first started at VCU, you had the opportunity to get to know everyone personally. With the increased staff, it is more difficult to learn about everyone. With this growth, the athletic department moved to the Siegel Center and the office accommodations are much nicer. RR: If you had to pick a favorite player from over the years, who would it be? RR: Any words of wisdom from your experiences? RR: You've worked for seven head coaches during your tenure. We won't ask you to pick a favorite, but any memories to share? DL: I've liked all my coaches. Sonny Smith may have been the most personable or the one that I was closest to for various reasons. One reason was NASCAR. Outside of basketball, Sonny liked NASCAR and my husband (David) and I enjoyed going to races with Sonny. He was easy to tease, had a good sense of humor, and he laughed at the hard times we gave him. When Sonny got his ankles fused, he was in a private room at MCV, and we – a few fans, my husband and myself – showed up dressed as doctors from Roan Mountain, Tenn. (Smith's hometown) in lab coats with a hatchet, a large needle, a hammer. He laughed so hard he needed more painkillers. You could do things like that with him. Favorite Richmond restaurant: Strawberry Street Café Favorite vacation spot: Myrtle Beach, S.C. Best way to spend a day off: Sitting by the water on the Rappahannock River or on a ball field Favorite VCU Basketball memory: The Final Four in 2011 You may not know: Long, has always been involved in athletics and still plays co-ed softball in a seniors league with her 82-yearold father, Nat Atkinson, and her husband of 30 years, David.

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