Ex-Grambling Official to Lead D.C. Athletics

D.C. Public Schools has named Troy Mathieu, a former athletic director at Grambling State University, its new director of athletics.

Prior to arriving at Grambling in 2006, Mathieu spent nine years as the assistant superintendent for athletics for the Dallas Independent School District, which oversees about three times as many students as DCPS.

Mathieu, 44, said he accepted the position "primarily because of the challenge of it. . . . It's a very similar situation to 1997 when we started in Dallas, and they hadn't invested back into the system. That prepared me to take on this challenge."

Mathieu's appointment ends a lengthy search that has kept DCPS athletics in limbo for nearly a year. He replaces Allen Chin, who reached an agreement to step down in February, six months after he learned that D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee did not intend to keep him. Chin headed DCPS athletics for 17 years.

Mathieu, whose first day on the job was Monday, said he was aware of the staffing and resource deficiencies within DCPS athletics. This year, the D.C. Council approved a $2 million increase for the DCPS athletics budget for the current fiscal year, which still leaves DCPS lagging behind neighboring school districts.

Mathieu, however, said he felt confident in his interviews with Rhee that he would get the support to make changes.

"We didn't get into specifics on those subjects," Mathieu said about central-office staffing and money, "but the chancellor had all the right answers to my questions, as far as a commitment to making big improvements to this athletic program. I believe she will give me what I need."

Mathieu said it is also his responsibility to raise money for the athletic department. In 2002, while he was in Dallas, he started a one-day basketball tripleheader, pitting three city schools against three from the suburbs at downtown Reunion Arena. In the first year, Mathieu said, with just more than a week of planning, the event drew more than 17,000 fans and turned a profit of more than $150,000, which was split among the six schools.

"You have to stretch your dollar and come up with new ways to make money," he said. "I do believe we're going to have some people who are going to support what we do, and I'm talking about from a corporate standpoint."

Mathieu met with the football coaches of the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association last night. "He said he wants to hear what we think is working and also what needs to be changed," said Daryl Tilghman, coach and athletic director at Theodore Roosevelt. "He said he wants to listen to us, and that's a good thing."