On Tuesday, April 17, David Diles was the second of three candidates to visit Northern Michigan University for the athletic director position.

Diles held an open forum for students, athletes and the community in the University Center.

Diles talked thouroughly during the forum about the future of the athletic department, including conference issues and alignments, academic and competitive future, branding and finances.

“There is a lot of opportunity here at Northern Michigan University,” Diles said. “We are grounded by our values and they will be the foundation for our department collectively.”

Diles was most recently the athletic director and chair man for the department of Physical Education and Athletics at Case Western Reserve University. He has also worked at Central Michigan University as assistant athletic director and Eastern Michigan University as vice president and director of athletics.

Diles is interested in developing the leadership and preparing students to be citizens of the world at Northern Michigan.

“One thing we implemented while I was working at St. Bonaventure University was getting student-athletes to help freshmen with move-in day,” Diles said. “Getting them involved so students see their faces is extremely important.”

Diles said he understands that to put fans in the seats, the teams need to win, and he is committed to getting the athletes to do so.

“My goal is to win national championships,” Diles said. “Our conferences prepare us to compete at higher levels if we win them.”

Diles said he has plans in place that would help get people to events, as well.

“Doing things like selling tickets to sponsors in blocks for them to dispurse would help attendance,” Diles said.

To leave comments on the Diles forum, visit www.nmu.edu/sports/ADFeedback. The final candidate, Sean Johnson, will hold a forum at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 19 in Pioneer Room A and B of the University Center.