Leon Costello
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Leon Costello Arrives at MSU AD Post with Plan, Preparation
6/18/2016 6:57:00 PM | General
New Bobcat Director of Athletics spent first few days on the job last week
Leon Costello can trace his career as a college athletics administrator to a task that many would find tedious. As a member of the basketball team at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, Costello was asked to serve on a search committee to find the school's next athletics director. That led to a lot of time spent pouring over resumes and sitting in meetings.
But it also led to opportunity.
"It opened my eyes to the possibilities in athletic administration and the role of administrators in developing student-athletes," said Costello, who had to that point studied athletic training or sports medicine. "That experience really indoctrinated me."
On Wednesday, Costello's journey came full circle. He begins his tenure as Montana State University's seventh full-time Director of Athletics. "People are excited about where Montana State University can go," Costello says, "and I'm excited to get going."
Getting going has never been a problem for Costello. He played basketball in the NCAA's non-athletic scholarship division, where student-athletes "play a sport because you love it," he said. "I had the opportunity to play a couple different sports and basketball was the one I chose. At Division III you play just because you want to keep playing."
"I remember Leon well during his time at Loras," says Steve Helminiak, the school's current head football coach who was an assistant during Costello's playing days. "He was an excellent person and basketball player while at Loras. He was an athletic, energetic and intelligent basketball player, the ideal student-athlete."
The experience at Loras not only proved beneficial in the moment – "At a smaller institution you get to meet and know everyone on campus, and you're part of a tight-knit community," he said – but it created the template he has followed as his own career has progressed.
"First and foremost," he said of his initial days and weeks leading Bobcat Athletics, "I want to get to know people. I want to get to know the personal side, the interests, the goals, of the staff. I want to get to know individual student-athletes, understand what drives the people in our program. And I'm really big on donor intent. I want to know how the goals and vision of donors line up with our goals and vision. I want to meet as many Bobcats as possible and learn what drives their passion. Building relationships is the most important thing right now."
Based on that personal philosophy, it's not surprising that Costello sees his task at Montana State as foundational. "We're going to start from the ground floor," he says. "We're going to look at our processes, what's currently in place. We'll attack it from the ground floor, but it's really all about looking at where we are right now, understanding where we want to take it, then filling the gaps in between."
Costello said updating Montana State Athletics' strategic plan stands high on his agenda, and will eventually serve as the organization's road map. "Part of our strategic plan will be a facility master plan, and we'll have a revenue plan, as well," Costello said. "Those pieces will definitely be part of the strategic plan going forward. We'll take a look at everything, how we structure different areas, from marketing to fund-raising to capital projects, how we work with Foundation. My plan is to get to understand what is currently taking place, get to understand the current climate, then take it from there.
After entering college athletics in the marketing field Costello's career has reached into most areas of an athletic program, internal and external. He has remained focused on revenue generation, though, and brings that highly-developed skill set to Bobcat Athletics.
"I want to understand how the goals and visions of those that have invested in Bobcat Athletics align with our goals and visions. It's about building relationships, getting to know people. There may be things we can tweak right away to increase revenue, and I'll take a long look at what's going on in our department and on campus to get a feel for what's happening. Then we decide what we do, what we want to accomplish, and put together a plan for how to get there."
Bobcat Athletics' focus on student-athlete success over the last decade-and-a-half, witnessed by the 28 consecutive semesters with a cumulative team grade point average of 3.0 or better, and 18 of at least a 3.15. Costello pledges that student-athletes remain the fulcrum of everything his department will work to accomplish.
"Our vision is to create an unbelievable student-athlete experience," he said. "Everyone within an athletic department has a job because of student-athletes. We want them to develop socially, we want them to develop academically, and we want them to win championships. It's our job to give them every chance to become the best person they can be in each of those areas."
With outreach an early action point, Costello plans to reach out to Bobcat supporters throughout the remainder of the summer. "My idea for the summer and for my first few months at MSU is to do less speaking and more listening," he said. "I want to hear from people in Bozeman and also people around the state. I want to hear from as many people as possible about why they're so passionate about Montana State."
After banking feedback from as wide a range of constituents as possible, Costello's next course of action is to form thoughts into a coherent plan. "Feedback is going to help us formulate our strategic plan and how we move forward into accomplishing the goals we're all working toward," he said. "That will setting goals and identifying priorities in specific areas, and will serve as a road map into the future."
Costello has had a good view of similar programs reaching unexpected heights at two schools similar to Montana State. Northern Iowa (2003-10) and South Dakota State (2010-16) each enjoyed broad-based conference and national success during his tenure. He said there is no quick fix or magic potion that leads to success.
"You achieve success with great people, good policies, and by implementing and following a plan," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting started."
But it also led to opportunity.
"It opened my eyes to the possibilities in athletic administration and the role of administrators in developing student-athletes," said Costello, who had to that point studied athletic training or sports medicine. "That experience really indoctrinated me."
On Wednesday, Costello's journey came full circle. He begins his tenure as Montana State University's seventh full-time Director of Athletics. "People are excited about where Montana State University can go," Costello says, "and I'm excited to get going."
Getting going has never been a problem for Costello. He played basketball in the NCAA's non-athletic scholarship division, where student-athletes "play a sport because you love it," he said. "I had the opportunity to play a couple different sports and basketball was the one I chose. At Division III you play just because you want to keep playing."
"I remember Leon well during his time at Loras," says Steve Helminiak, the school's current head football coach who was an assistant during Costello's playing days. "He was an excellent person and basketball player while at Loras. He was an athletic, energetic and intelligent basketball player, the ideal student-athlete."
The experience at Loras not only proved beneficial in the moment – "At a smaller institution you get to meet and know everyone on campus, and you're part of a tight-knit community," he said – but it created the template he has followed as his own career has progressed.
"First and foremost," he said of his initial days and weeks leading Bobcat Athletics, "I want to get to know people. I want to get to know the personal side, the interests, the goals, of the staff. I want to get to know individual student-athletes, understand what drives the people in our program. And I'm really big on donor intent. I want to know how the goals and vision of donors line up with our goals and vision. I want to meet as many Bobcats as possible and learn what drives their passion. Building relationships is the most important thing right now."
Based on that personal philosophy, it's not surprising that Costello sees his task at Montana State as foundational. "We're going to start from the ground floor," he says. "We're going to look at our processes, what's currently in place. We'll attack it from the ground floor, but it's really all about looking at where we are right now, understanding where we want to take it, then filling the gaps in between."
Costello said updating Montana State Athletics' strategic plan stands high on his agenda, and will eventually serve as the organization's road map. "Part of our strategic plan will be a facility master plan, and we'll have a revenue plan, as well," Costello said. "Those pieces will definitely be part of the strategic plan going forward. We'll take a look at everything, how we structure different areas, from marketing to fund-raising to capital projects, how we work with Foundation. My plan is to get to understand what is currently taking place, get to understand the current climate, then take it from there.
After entering college athletics in the marketing field Costello's career has reached into most areas of an athletic program, internal and external. He has remained focused on revenue generation, though, and brings that highly-developed skill set to Bobcat Athletics.
"I want to understand how the goals and visions of those that have invested in Bobcat Athletics align with our goals and visions. It's about building relationships, getting to know people. There may be things we can tweak right away to increase revenue, and I'll take a long look at what's going on in our department and on campus to get a feel for what's happening. Then we decide what we do, what we want to accomplish, and put together a plan for how to get there."
Bobcat Athletics' focus on student-athlete success over the last decade-and-a-half, witnessed by the 28 consecutive semesters with a cumulative team grade point average of 3.0 or better, and 18 of at least a 3.15. Costello pledges that student-athletes remain the fulcrum of everything his department will work to accomplish.
"Our vision is to create an unbelievable student-athlete experience," he said. "Everyone within an athletic department has a job because of student-athletes. We want them to develop socially, we want them to develop academically, and we want them to win championships. It's our job to give them every chance to become the best person they can be in each of those areas."
With outreach an early action point, Costello plans to reach out to Bobcat supporters throughout the remainder of the summer. "My idea for the summer and for my first few months at MSU is to do less speaking and more listening," he said. "I want to hear from people in Bozeman and also people around the state. I want to hear from as many people as possible about why they're so passionate about Montana State."
After banking feedback from as wide a range of constituents as possible, Costello's next course of action is to form thoughts into a coherent plan. "Feedback is going to help us formulate our strategic plan and how we move forward into accomplishing the goals we're all working toward," he said. "That will setting goals and identifying priorities in specific areas, and will serve as a road map into the future."
Costello has had a good view of similar programs reaching unexpected heights at two schools similar to Montana State. Northern Iowa (2003-10) and South Dakota State (2010-16) each enjoyed broad-based conference and national success during his tenure. He said there is no quick fix or magic potion that leads to success.
"You achieve success with great people, good policies, and by implementing and following a plan," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting started."
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