NIU’s new athletics director Jim Phillips grew up as one of 10 kids on Chicago’s north-west side. A former University of Illinois student, he is happy to return to Illinois from South Bend, Ind. where he served as the associate athletics director at Notre Dame. Signing a six-year contract at NIU, he has big plans for the DeKalb university.

Northern Star: What sports did you play as a kid?

Jim Phillips: I loved the game of baseball, basketball, hockey and football until my mom said I couldn’t play anymore. Those four major sports.

NS: You’re a Chicago native, what high school did you attend?

JP: Weber High School, but they closed. [Duke coach] Mike Krzyzewski is the most famous alum there. He and I kid all the time. He says I’m the most famous alumnus from there and I tell him he is. (Laughs).

NS: You graduated from the University of Illinois; If NIU plays the Illini, who are you pulling for?

JP: Are you kidding? The Huskies. Get out of here.

NS: Do you think the Illini are afraid to play NIU in football?

JP: You may want to call Coach Turner on that one.

NS: What makes you a good fit for NIU?

JP: I’ve had some other [job] opportunities out there. It’s the institution, the level of success both academically and athletically. It’s in an area that I absolutely love and want to raise a family in. Those are some of the major bullets.

NS: Do you want to eventually retire at NIU or move on to a bigger university?

JP: My job’s right here at NIU. I can’t nearly think about another job. Very frankly, I wanted to go to a place where I could spend the next 20 years and could raise those four kids. That’s why I chose NIU.

NS: What have you noticed needs the most attention at NIU?

JP: The facilities need a little work. I think football needs a little attention, I think the Olympic sports also need some attention. I think the outreach to the students. We’ve got to get the students involved more. I know they’ve done a good job, but we’ve got to get them to be more involved, and not only just with football but with some of the other programs here.

NS: Funding has been one of the main obstacles to overcome at NIU, what can you do to change that?

JP: I think there’s a story to be told. Any type of situation where you are trying to acquire resources you have to make the case for why it’s important. And I think the success of the programs on the field, we have great student-athletes here and we have to do everything we can to get those folks the resources they need to be successful.

NS: Would you say the north end zone facility for football is the number one priority right now?

JP: I think so, but I don’t know what’s happened with track and softball and soccer and what’s been promised and what’s been talked about.

NS: For sports that have struggled at NIU for several years now, will all those coaches now start a new slate with you, or will their past struggles be carried over?

JP: In anything we do it’s a body of work and it’s over a period of time. You don’t judge anyone over a week or a month. You judge them over their whole entire career and you look at what they’ve been dealt with recruiting and scholarships. It’s tough for some of these teams where they haven’t been competing on a level playing field.