'Our quest for championships will be unwavering': Auburn introduces AD Allen Greene

1010141410101414

Jan. 19, 2018 By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. - With enthusiasm and confidence, Allen Greene cast his vision for the department he will oversee.

"Our quest for championships will be unwavering," Greene said Friday after Auburn University president Dr. Steven Leath introduced him as Auburn's 15th Director of Athletics.

Speaking to an audience that included student-athletes from each Auburn sport, Greene prioritized their educational experience, competing for championships and developing leaders.

"No. 1, we want our young people to graduate," he said. "We will be winners. We will be champions. Our mission is to provide you as student-athletes and coaches every opportunity to win SEC championships. We will invest ourselves heavily to do so.

"Auburn will stand for making sure that we create and we produce productive members of society. It is incredibly important that we make sure that you are well equipped for the rigors and intensity of the real world."

The third African-American athletics director in Southeastern Conference history, Greene addressed his history-making appointment by referencing Henry Harris, Auburn's first black athlete in 1968.

"It speaks volumes to how far our country has progressed," Greene said. "It speaks to the leadership of President Leath. It speaks to the passion of the Auburn family's acceptance of someone with my profile to be here. I would be naive to sit here and think that it doesn't mean something significant. People are very proud and happy for me, and on the bigger picture, for our country.

"Then there's the other side of me that thinks it's not a big deal. I consider myself a partner, a leader, and regardless of my gender, my sexual orientation or my skin color, I'm here to serve. That should transcend."

The consensus choice of Auburn's search committee, Greene comes to the Plains from the University of Buffalo, where he served as athletics director the past two years.

Concluding his remarks before fielding questions, Greene acknowledged the magnitude of his new position.

"I understand that there are lofty expectations for Auburn Athletics and I embrace that wholeheartedly," he said. "Without these expectations, how do we expect to grow? How do we expect to better ourselves? How do we expect to push ourselves?"

"The future is bright. It's incredibly bright. I'm so happy to be part of it. We've got some work to do. We're going to roll our sleeves up. We're going to get after it. We're going to be teammates together, and we're going to do all that we can to make the Auburn family proud."

Greene quoted NBA executive Pat Riley, who said long-term success as a coach or leader requires one "to be obsessed in some way."

"As I stand here before you and as we get ready to kick off a new chapter of Auburn Athletics, I'm committing to you my crazy obsession for the student-athlete experience, my crazy obsession for our quest to win championships, my crazy obsession to do the best I can to be an Auburn man. And my crazy obsession to make the Auburn family incredibly proud."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer