Winters plays key role in off-the-field
success of U of M athletic department

BY ED WRIGHT
July 18, 2010, 11:15 p.m.

  It was the summer of 1999 when a co-worker of Jason Winters tipped him off about an intriguing job that was being created within the University of Michigan's athletic department.

  "A colleague of mine was actually approached for the job," reflected Winters, who was working for a financial firm at the time. "But, thankfully, she didn't have an interest in sports or the University of Michigan. She told me, 'It's a position I think you'd like and one you'd be ideal for'."

  Nearly 11 years later, it's become apparent that Winters' colleague was right on both accounts.

  Winters, a resident of Plymouth, was hired as the University of Michigan Athletic Department's first associate athletic director/chief financial officer in December of 1999.

  The job has proven to be a perfect fit for the 1986 U of M graduate and big-time sports fan -- and for the Wolverines' athletic department, which, with the help of  Winters' sharp financial mind, will have a $4.7 million operating surplus this year at a time when many collegiate sports programs are struggling to stay out of the red.   

  "My hiring experience was kind of rare and unique in that I wasn't involved in athletics or university administration when I landed here," said Winters. "In a way, it was probably to my advantage that I didn't have any previous experience in university athletics because I offered a fresh way of looking at things.

  "My background was as a CPA and financial consultant, but when this opportunity came along, it was something I couldn't pass up."

  Winters has worked under three athletic directors at Michigan: Tom Goss, the man who hired him; Bill Martin, who took over the reins of the Wolverines' athletic program in 2000 before retiring this past March; and current AD David Brandon. 

  "I would give Jason an A-plus grade for his work on behalf of the University of Michigan," said Martin. "He's a hard-working, talented individual whose ability goes well beyond financial management and accounting skills.

  "Jason was a wise counsel to me on many issues. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't stop by his office and bounce ideas off him."

  Winters' personal history had a definite maize-and-blue tint to it even before he started collecting pay checks from the university.

  "I practically grew up in this place," Winters said, gesturing toward the 109,901 seats in U of M's football stadium. "My dad started taking me to games when I was 5 or 6. My older sisters went to school here before me, so I grew up with Michigan football."

  Winters has been a pivotal off-the-field contributor to U of M athletics during a monumental decade in the school's sports history. The year he arrived, the department was beset with a $2.8 million deficit.

  Led by several revenue-generating ideas engineered by Martin, Winters and other key employees at U of M, the athletic department's financial situation was quickly steered into the black -- where it has stayed throughout the past recession-plagued decade.

  According to the U.S. Department of Education, U of M's 2011 athletic department budget (which is in excess of $100 million for the first time ever) is the fourth-largest in the country, behind only the University of Texas, Ohio State and the University of Florida.

  "Every day is interesting," said Winters. "It's a great job. We have 25 teams and they each have their own budget, so it's challenging at times, but I love it. Part of the job requires me to go to games, which I don't really consider work.

  Although Winters' job title includes senior associate athletic director, he is not involved directly in the hiring and firing of coaches.

  "Like any other organization, I get asked from time to time what I think of particular people," he said.

  "But when it comes to hiring new coaches," he added, smiling, "I don't think my opinion matters too much."

  Among the current endeavors that have consumed big chunks of Winters' time are the recently completed $226 million renovation of the Big House, the ongoing improvements to Crisler Arena and the addition of a basketball practice facility.

  Winters said the transition to a new athletic director has gone smoothly.

  "Dave's a brilliant guy," he said of Brandon. "Not that our backgrounds are similar, but as the the former CEO at Domino's, he came from a non-athletics position like I did."

  Even when he's away from his job, Winters is never far from sports as all three of his daughters -- Lindsey, Rachel and Natalie -- are avid multi-sport athletes.

  Lindsey was a key member of Canton's Final Four basketball team this past winter as well as an important player on the Chiefs' soccer team that earned state rankings the past two years.

  Rachel, an incoming freshman at Canton, plays for the Michigan Hawks 14U soccer team that is competing for a national title this week in Kansas. She is also an accomplished basketball player.

  And Natalie, who'll be a seventh-grader in the fall, is also passionate about sports, much like her older sisters.

  "I love watching the girls compete in sports," said Winters, who grew up in Livonia and was a multi-sport athlete at Livonia Franklin High School. "It's been fun watching Lindsey with all the success her teams have experienced at Canton."

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.