Western Kentucky University's Athletic Director Wood Selig Leaves To Accept Similar Job At Old Dominion University. Read Press Release Below.

Dear Members,

The letter below was originally intended to reach the HAF membership Friday morning prior to a scheduled press conference at noon on Friday in Diddle Arena to announce that Wood Selig will be leaving WKU to accept a position as Athletic Director at Old Dominion University.
Unfortunately, word of his appointment at ODU has circulated throughout the community quicker than anticipated. Therefore, we send you the letter below in advance of the official announcement by both WKU and ODU scheduled for Friday afternoon. We also cordially invite you and members of the HAF to attend this noon press conference in the Diddle Arena media room with Wood Selig and President Gary Ransdell. Thank you for your continued support of HAF and WKU athletics.

> Dear Hilltopper Athletic Foundation Member:
>
> I would like to take this time to inform you of an upcoming
> announcement scheduled for Friday. It is with mixed emotions that I
> communicate this information to each of you and I wish I could inform
> you in a more personal nature other than via a mass e-mail but, word
> has already started to spread.
>
> I have recently been offered and have subsequently accepted the
> position of Athletic Director at Old Dominion University in my
> hometown of Norfolk, Virginia. Many of you are very familiar with ODU
> given the Sun Belt Conference history of both ODU and WKU. Dr. Jim
> Jarrett, the current AD at ODU, is retiring after 40 years as AD there
> effective June 30, 2010. ODU has been conducting an on-going, national
> search since his retirement announcement in the summer of 2009.
>
> After considerable discussion and much reflection, my family and I
> have elected to pursue this professional opportunity and a chance to
> return to my hometown with the additional benefit of being close to my
> parents, family members, and childhood friends. I grew up less than
> one half mile from the ODU campus. Many of our HAF members grew up
> and/or have lived in close proximity to WKU so you can certainly
> appreciate and value that vital aspect of this decision. The thought
> of my children being able to see their grandparents daily versus what
> currently is no more than a few times each year is very compelling.
> Additionally, ODU represents a dynamic professional opportunity to
> lead a program with substantial athletic momentum and a chance to
> build upon a rich athletic history that includes 32 team and
> individual national championships since 1975.
>
> The last eleven years on the Hill have been full of great times and
> experiences, personally and professionally, for me and my family. For
> my three children Lex (12), Nick (10) and Julianna (6), they know and
> remember no other home than WKU and Bowling Green, Kentucky! This
> institution and this community will forever be part of their “DNA” so
> to speak. Ellen and I have valued the friendships within the HAF and
> those that we have been a part of within the WKU family and community.
> We will forever value and appreciate the opportunities we were given
> here at WKU and the support that has sustained us here for over a
> decade. The friendships and community support make for the most
> difficult aspect of this decision.
>
> We will follow and root for the Tops – HSSN will make that very easy
> as many around the country have learned. We thank you for your
> continued commitment to the 19 intercollegiate athletic programs and
> our 440 student-athletes who represent WKU so well. You have helped
> make this job much easier with your support. We will forever take
> great pride in the continual academic and athletic successes of all of
> those associated with WKU athletics. We will feel a substantial bond
> few can share with these programs, with WKU alumni, and with friends
> of WKU athletics. We will share the sense of accomplishment that we
> all enjoy when reflecting back upon the last eleven years of our
> academic and athletic achievements. We will smile and enjoy the
> continued success of WKU athletics in the future.
>
> Thank you for the opportunity to serve you as Athletic Director at
> WKU. My family and I cannot say thank you enough for this wonderful
> opportunity. FOREVER TOPS!
>
> Wood, Ellen, Lex, Nick, and Julianna