Over the next few weeks LamarCardinals.com will be speaking with several members of the Lamar University Athletics staff that don't get much attention. These people work behind the scenes, and often their contributions go unnoticed by the general public. It's our hope that after reading each of these articles Cardinal fans will come to appreciate just how important each person is to Big Red's success.

Our second profile focuses on James Stem, the assistant athletic director of operations for Lamar. He sat down with LamarCardinals.com for a short interview which follows below:

What do you do at Lamar?

My role is to make sure that all game-day aspects are covered, from your football games to your softball games, baseball, etc. This includes your general staffing on game days, so this list includes custodial, security, facilities/maintenance, student staff, etc. Our number one priority is to make sure that all of our patrons, students, student-athletes, coaches, and faculty members are safe on game days. So if you see one of us go out into the middle of a field or court to stop play, we are looking out for everyone's safety. I also make sure that the facility maintenance is kept at a certain point.  Our staff makes sure all the events from athletics to university commencements are covered within the Montagne Center and other athletic facilities, we make sure the staff is prepared for whatever duties they have on game day, and we monitor pre-game setup and post-game breakdown.
 
How did you get started in this career field?

Before I started at Stetson I was working as the general manager of a baseball team in the Florida Collegiate Summer League, and then I was in a meeting one day with some of the staff at the host site, Stetson University. He brought myself and my boss in for a meeting and then asked to speak to just me, and we talked through a couple of positions they had available. Eventually I was hired on as the Director of Operations at Stetson.
 
Going back to my college days, I first became interested in operations when I became the student manager of the Winthrop baseball team. I got to do different things like help manage practice, distribute equipment, and other things like that. When you're a student manager you get a glimpse of what an operations manager for a university does on a day-to-day basis, but the Florida Summer League really is when my interest piqued. I just really enjoyed getting to see how the gears meshed behind the scenes and how the operations staff worked together to a) put a product out on the field and b) help the athletes on the team focus on just the game and nothing else.
 
What's a typical day look like for you?

There are two different "seasons" for us. When we're in season, the beginning of August through the middle of June, we get here by 8 a.m. and hopefully we go home by 6 or 7 at night. We work those hours six or seven days a week while we're in season with just a few breaks here and there.
 
During the down time or "off" season, which is the middle of June through the beginning of August, we get here around 8 a.m. and work until 5 or so.
 
There isn't really a typical day for us. I can sit down and look at my schedule and know what meetings I have and the projects we've got on the itinerary, but things can change very quickly. Our facilities are very nice compared to most universities at our level, but you never know when something could break down. A big portion of my job is figuring out the short-term fix so we can get our teams back on the field and the long-term fix so whatever is broken doesn't cause long-term damage.
 
If you had to explain your job to someone who knew nothing about college athletics, what would you compare it to?

Honestly that's tough because it changes every single day, and there aren't many things that I do in a routine that most people are familiar with. The only thing I could really compare my job to would be a production manager of a TV station. They come in with a set agenda but often spend their days fixing things instead and going a completely different direction. We are often detoured by life's daily problems, and that just comes with the job.
 
What are some of the challenges you face, and what are the rewards?

It's interesting to see everyone's perspective. I often function as a middle man between coaches and administration or coaching staffs and the university or administration and our facility management staff, so I often hear both sides on any challenge we're trying to work through that day. It's my job to make sure that we reach a "happy medium"; that everyone comes out of our meetings happy with the outcome. I'm there to facilitate the answer for both parties.
 
There are several rewards. First, it's the appreciation you get from the coaching staffs, the administration, our student-athletes, and the fans. It goes a long way. Second, it's a new challenge every day, and that's an invigorating environment to work in. Third, I just really enjoy working, and I can't imagine working in any field besides college athletics. It was a dream of mine for as long as I can remember to help teams be as successful as possible every time they take the field, and I get to do that here at Lamar University. Finally, I just really love mentoring student-athletes and our game-day staff. It's so rewarding to get to see them grow up in just the four or five years they spend with us.
 
Is there anything about operations that people don't know that you think they should?

It's a very strange feeling for me to attend a sporting event now and not be working it. I used to just enjoy being at the game and seeing athletes compete, but now I often find myself almost completely missing the actual game as I wander the ballpark or football stadium or whatever venue I'm at and try to figure out how they do what they do. I love trying to figure out how other people do the same job I do.
 
Fun Fact Sheet about James Stem

• Birthplace: Rutland, Vermont
• College: Winthrop University
• Experience in College Athletics: Over 7 Years (Lamar University, Stetson University)
• Favorite Sports Team: Boston Red Sox (Sorry Astro Fans)
• Favorite Phrase: Hot Coffee
• Twitter: @LamarGameOps