AUBURN, Ala. – There's not a lot of open space on Allen Greene's schedule.
Between meetings with student-athletes and coaches, supporting them at competitions, providing management guidance to senior administrators, planning for the future of the department and traveling across the country to meet with donors, the calendar fills quickly.
Auburn's first African-American Director of Athletics - the third in Southeastern Conference history - Greene tries to make time to respond to the daily requests he receives from people who want to emulate his career path.
"The inbox is flooded with aspiring athletic administrators wanting to connect, reach out and just talk on the phone for a few minutes," Greene said. "It's time-consuming but it's necessary for the future success of the next generation."
Not long ago, Greene was on the listening end of those calls. He found role models in African-American athletic directors like the late David Williams at Vanderbilt, Warde Manuel at Michigan, Gene Smith at Ohio State, Bernard Muir at Stanford and former Florida State AD Stan Wilcox.
"Those are people of whom I thought, 'I want to be like them,'" Greene said. "Coming up in the industry, I recognized how important it is to see someone in a leadership role who looks like you, and can relate to the unique experiences a person of color encounters.
"I'm very, very fortunate to be at Auburn University. This is a very high-profile job at a very high-level institution in the highest profile conference."
Despite the demands on his time, Greene seeks to be a resource as often as possible.
"I have a soft spot for young people of color in this industry," he said. "I feel like it's my obligation to do whatever I can to be of help."
A high school baseball and basketball star in Seattle, Greene earned a baseball scholarship to Notre Dame before playing professionally in the New York Yankees' organization.
After working at his alma mater in compliance and development, Greene headed south to the University of Mississippi as a development officer.
Some of the donors on whom Greene called had attended Ole Miss a half-century earlier, when segregation was the status quo in South.
"It didn't dawn on me that I was developing relationships and friendships with some people who were supportive of segregation in the '50s and '60s," he said.
Watching ESPN's documentary, "Ghosts of Ole Miss," about the university's integration in 1962 against the backdrop of an undefeated football season, Greene noted how his new friends' viewpoints on race had changed.
"I started thinking, 'That's really interesting.' At 18, 19, 20, 21 years old, they did not agree with going to school with people of color," he said. "Fast forward 50 years, many of their mindsets have evolved to, 'Why were we thinking that? Regardless of skin color, we're brothers.' That has sat with me for the past eight years.
"I'm still good friends with people who went to school at Ole Miss in the '60s. It gives me comfort knowing that people can change. And not to give up on people, just because of either a comment or a thought. There's a deeper human connection. You've just got to figure out how to make that connection."
Greene's positive experiences at Ole Miss made him open to the prospect of returning to the South when Auburn reached out last year.
"The friends we met in Oxford were so incredibly welcoming – friendships that we still have to this day – it gave us comfort in exploring this opportunity at Auburn," he said.
After interviewing with Auburn University president Dr. Steven Leath and the search committee, Greene accepted the Auburn AD job before his first campus visit.
"The discussion was more about trying to figure out if I will be accepted because my profile is so nontraditional for Auburn. I'm black. I'm from the North, and I didn't go to Auburn," he said. "With those three major identifiers – will people accept me for that?
"What I have learned is the Auburn family is accepting of whoever is like them. The Auburn Creed refers to the human touch cultivating sympathy with each other, mutual helpfulness and happiness for all.
"I'm not referring to political or religious beliefs, but human value beliefs. We can have our differences on a lot of those surface things, but at the core of who we are as people, I felt at home with members of the Auburn family before I even got to Auburn.
"I knew if even half of the people were like the folks who I visited with during the interview process, it would be a life-changing experience for the positive."
Greene's first year on the Plains, which ended Feb. 19, validated that confidence.
"The hospitality, the genuineness. It's comforting to know there are people in the Deep South who accept you for who you are," he said. "Growing up in Seattle, I wouldn't have expected that of any city in Mississippi or Alabama.
"I've had some negative experiences in Seattle. I've had some at Notre Dame. I've had some in Buffalo and during my professional baseball days. Oxford? Nothing terrible, but race is very front of mind in Oxford, Mississippi. I'd say more so than here in Alabama."
When Greene has time to return those calls from aspiring administrators, one piece of advice stems from his personal journey: don't let demographic differences or perceived cultural differences prevent you from pursuing opportunities, even in regions with a history of oppression toward people of color.
"I want people to know that Auburn is inclusive," he said. "For those who haven't been to Auburn, I encourage them to experience The Loveliest Village on the Plains for themselves.
"What I've learned is, they like me for me. It just so happens that I'm black. It just so happens I'm from the North. It just so happens I didn't go to Auburn. I genuinely feel like the Auburn family sees themselves in me, and I feel like it's a perfect fit."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer