Jack Lengyel took a big step toward achieving his goals of a strong Tiger "family" and the vital link between athletics and academics during his first year at Missouri. The 52-year-old Lengyel (pronounced LING-ull) returned to the Columbia campus in March of 1986 to serve as director of athletics, after three productive years as athletic director at Fresno State University. He had previously spent three years as associate athletic director at Mizzou.
Lengyel's charge to the department upon his arrival was simple. "Our motto will be 'Service-Service-Service'. When our fans come onto this campus, they should feel like guests in our home. We need to be a family."
As a close-knit "family", Lengyel feels the athletic department can more effectively mount successful athletic programs that have as their central focus the best interests of the student-athlete.
He's initiated ideas to promote that "family" spirit throughout the state and with Tiger fans. Several promotions were designed to bring fans back to Mizzou and to inject excitement into football Saturdays. The first "AgriMissouri Day," now an annual event, was coincided with the Utah State game last year. Missouri farmers where able to purchase tickets to the game at a reduced price and to take part in seminars offered by the College of Agriculture.
Interfacing athletics and academics is a top priority of Lengyel's. For instance, he placed Parris Watts, a tenured faculty member, into the Tigers' position of director of student-athletes services. He arranged for special breakfasts to honor all student-athletes with grades over 3.0 for the previous semester.
Lengyel carries his concerns to the national level as well. He is third vice-president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and is the Division I Athletic Directors' Executive Committee representative for the Big Eight Conference. He was one of NACDA's representatives to the Goodwill Games in Moscow during the summer of 1986. He is also on the faculty and Board of Visitors of the U.S. Sports Academy.
Lengyel grew up in Akron, Ohio, and won letters at Akron University in football, lacrosse, swimming and track, along with a a degree in physical education. He has a master's degree from Kent State.
During a coaching career that spanned 22 years on all three NCAA university levels, he was head coach in the sports of football, lacrosse, baseball, wrestling, swimming and track. In 1971, he was the man tabbed by Marshall University to rebuild its football program after the fatal plane crash that wiped out the team and its coaches in 1970.
"I've taken the Jeep and drug the baseball field, washed the uniforms and picked up the players … When I talk with coaches about their sport, they know I've been there as a coach and that I can relate to them and their problems," he says.
In 1974, Lengyel went into private business in Louisville, Ky. After a successful sales career with Gamble Bros., he returned to athletics as associate athletic director at Louisville, and in 1980, came to Missouri.
At Fresno State, he took a program that was on probation when he arrived, instituted programs of institutional control and accountability for all booster groups, improved old facilities and added new ones, added effective fund-raising and marketing strategies and saw 11 sports achieve national top-20 status during his final 18 months there.
Lengyel's family — "my first priority" — includes Sandy, his wife of 30 years, sons David and Peter, both graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy, and daughter Julie, a graduate of the University of Kentucky. David is currently attending graduate business school at Missouri.