VCU Ram Report

TIM LAMPE Director of Facilities and Siegel Center Operations Since 1997, Tim Lampe has overseen the operation of VCU's athletic facilities, including the opening of the Stuart C. Siegel Center in 1999. In addition, Lampe serves as an adjunct professor in VCU's Center for Sport Leadership, where he is the instructor for the Sport and Entertainment Event Development program and is on pace to receive his doctorate in Educational Leadership in 2014. We recently caught up with the Cincinnati, Ohio native. RR: How does a former college basketball player end up working in facilities? TL: I went to the University of New Mexico after I played ball. Larry Shyatt, who recruited me to Cleveland State, was an assistant there and offered me a graduate assistant position. I was going to be a coach. I worked Five Star Camp every summer, did the whole circuit, won a few championships. I finished that, got my Master's and took an internship with facilities after [Head Coach] Gary Colson got fired. It was kind of a 'What am I going to do now?' I did the internship and absolutely fell in love with the concert business and special events. RR: What was it about special events that hooked you? TL: Think about the events we were doing out there. Back-to-back George Straight concerts, Garth Brooks, three nights in a row, Metallica at the stadium, Reba McEntire, Brooks and Dunn. Then, my last concert there was The Rolling Stones. Sixtythousand people at the stadium. That was it, man. How can that not hook you? And of course every basketball game was sold out at 18,000 people. Football was doing well, we had Dennis Franchione. It was a very energetic environment, and it was 24-7. There wasn't anything about that I didn't like. RR: It must have been hard to leave. What brought you to VCU? TL: So the opportunity came up here at VCU, which was a great opportunity. The facilities we had at New Mexico, The Pit was built in '64, the football stadium was built in '75, the Johnson Center was built in '57. It was challenging at every turn because we didn't have all the latest and greatest technology and equipment. I can't think of a better place to learn than where I went, to learn all the nuances and the different issues that come up with facility and event management. But to be able to come here and open up the Siegel Center and Sports Backers Stadium...I said it was energetic down there [at New Mexico], but the energy here is so contagious. RR: You've been at VCU for 16 years now. How has LIGHTNING ROUND Most memorable event you've worked: Hands down, The Rolling Stones, October 1997, Bridges to Babylon Tour at University Stadium at New Mexico. At VCU, probably the American Red Cross National Convention, May 23, 1999 (The first event in the Siegel Center). your job changed over that time? like during the throes of basketball season? TL: It seems like our focus is more on the studentathlete experience, which I find is more fascinating, more fun. It might be because I'm getting older, too. You get that fatherly, your kid is older than all of your student-athletes thing. You want them to have the best resources and the best experience. TL: It's so different now because over the last three or four years we're selling out games. Almost every game is televised. We have some of the better amenities. We've got the suites upstairs now. So I think the expectations of us are higher, and trying to meet that challenge is new and exciting. We changed our food and beverage operation. It used to be in-house, we decided we needed an upgrade, so we outsourced it. I think that's part of it. At every turn, we're trying to make improvements. RR: You've overseen a great deal of change since 1997. TL: We've got so much more to do. We still need a baseball stadium. We still need a tennis facility. We just got done resurfacing Cary Street Field hockey turf. We did so well with the Siegel Center and Sports Backers Stadium, but we've got so much more to do. RR: That's got to make the basketball practice facility project pretty exciting for you. TL: Yes, very, in a lot of ways. Franklin Street Gym, it's still very hot over there. It's an old facility. RR: What's a typical day Favorite Place to Eat in Richmond: Home. We still get green chiles shipped in from Hatch, New Mexico, and my wife, Breena, makes the best green chile chicken enchiladas. Ideal Vacation Spot: The Caribbean. I'm an avid SCUBA diver. We've been to almost every island in the Caribbean, but if I had to pick one, probably Saba. Best Way to Spend a Day Off: On the hog, for sure. I've got a [Harley-Davidson] 2009 Road King Classic. Virginia is awesome for taking road trips. Favorite Ram: RR: What's the craziest time of year for you? Hard to pick one, but probably Jesse Pellot-Rosa. TL: It's interesting. At the last [VCU] basketball game every year, you get the back slap and everybody says, 'great job'. It's funny because Nate [Doughty] and I will go, 'We've got 35 VHSL games next week!' That's always funny. It's either state high school basketball championships or graduations. Probably state high school basketball, because all of our services are in full play. DID YOU KNOW? After one season at Cleveland State, Lampe transferred to Miami of Ohio in 1983 and played center on a team that included future NBA star Ron Harper and future Georgia State Coach Ron Hunter. Lampe later tried out as a tight end and defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots.

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