Who Is New Southern Conference Commissioner Jim Schaus and What Does He Need To Do?

The SoCon could go either way. It’s Schaus’ job to make sure the league grows, not regresses.

The Southern Conference announced yesterday Jim Schaus will become the league’s ninth commissioner, starting July 1.

Schaus is the athletic director at Ohio, where the Bobcats, once known for losing, are now winning.

True, the credit for football’s revival in Athens should, as The Athens Messenger’s Jason Arkley said yesterday on my radio show, lie with Frank Solich, who began to turn around the Bobcats before Schaus arrived from Wichita State.

But there are certain positives concerning such a hire. Ohio has a good communications department, and though perhaps an athletic director coming from a school with a good communications department isn’t the same as one from a sports network, the conference could use more exposure than what ESPN+ provides.

Schaus’ father Frank once took a Southern Conference basketball program to the national championship final. True, it was 60 years ago, but such accomplishments within the family might make one believe it is possible for a SoCon team to win a national championship.

Prior to Ohio, Schaus was the athletic director at Wichita State, where he hired Gregg Marshall. The Bobcats’ 88 percent graduation rate for athletes was exceptional.