By NICK BRILOWSKI
Special to The Gazette
Attempting to oversee one professional sports team may seem like enough of a challenge for most people, but 1977 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point graduate Bob Whitsitt manages to look after two.
Whitsitt, the President of the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks and National Basketball Association's Portland Trail Blazers, will take time out from his busy schedule to give the commencement address Sunday at UW-SP's spring graduation ceremonies.
Though his jobs prove to be very time consuming, Whitsitt says he enjoys the challenge.
"First of all it's very exciting," he said. "There's certainly never a down time. That's sort of the bad part. The logistical challenge, besides managing my time, is the fact that the teams are in two different cities in two different states, so I have to do a lot of commuting back and forth.
"I guess the bad thing is I'm almost always in season," Whitsitt added. "You almost always have some team playing. It's challenging and it's right out there because everyone has an opinion and everybody will know how you did last night and the whole world watched it. There's a lot of pressure, but it's very exciting."
Currently, it's the Trail Blazers that are the center of Whitsitt's attention, having advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a first round victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"We feel this year that we're one of the teams that has a legitimate chance," Whitsitt said. "I think every year there's three or four teams that can say that and I think we're one of them.
"It's hard just to get where we are. We're down to the final eight (teams) and all you can think about is getting down to the final four. And you get there and you try to get to the final two. There's no certainty and there's no guarantees. You just have to work very hard and hope everything can come together for you."
A communication major during his time at UW-SP, Whitsitt, a Madison native, enjoyed his time at the university, thanks to the size of the classes and the ability to participate in athletics. During his senior year as a member of the football team, the squad finished third in the country.
"I think it was a great experience for me," Whitsitt said of his time in Stevens Point. "I really enjoyed learning from the professors and I liked being able to seek them out outside of class time and they were always receptive to giving their time, which I think is a great way to enhance what you're doing.
"If I could go back and do it again, I'd do it in a heartbeat."
During his junior year at UW-SP, Whitsitt took up an interest in sports administration after looking at a brochure for the University of Ohio.
He ended up attending Ohio State University and was three credits away from his master's degree when he needed an internship to complete his degree.
After about 30 to 40 rejections that Whitsitt seems to recall, he received a call from the Indiana Pacers, the last team he was waiting to hear from, on Labor Day of 1978, inviting him to join the organization. The next day Whitsitt was in Indianapolis living with a former high school classmate.
Both teams that Whitsitt runs these days are owned by billionare Paul Allen. Whitsitt says that the pair has an excellent working relationship.
"We have a very good relationship," Whitsitt stated. "In the businesses I run for him, he's very supportive and very interested in us doing well. He wants us to be the best. In terms of the sports teams he runs, he takes owning them very seriously. He wants to make each of the communities very proud."
Whitsitt said that Allen is very involved in the communities of both Portland and Seattle and tries to pass that on to everyone involved with his teams.
"I couldn't be happier," Whitsitt said of working for Allen. "I've worked for a lot of different people over the years and Paul is by far the best owner I've ever worked for."
While it's the Trail Blazers that are at the top of Whitsitt's priorities at this time, the Seahawks are preparing for their second season under head coach and general manager Mike Holmgren.
Whitsitt hopes that Holmgren is able to bring the same winning attitude that made him successful in Green Bay.
"Mike's done a great job," Whitsitt said. "He's come in as our coach and general manager and we're really challenging him to try to mold a team that can be very successful and allowing him to put his fingerprints on it. Hopefully he can have the same success he had with Green Bay and get the Seahawks to the Super Bowl and bring it home one day."
Since his graduation from UW-SP 23 years ago, Whitsitt has never been able to return to Stevens Point due to work conflicts. He had been invited back yearly for Hall of Fame inductions and golf outings, but has never been able to work out his return. That is until this year.
Whitsitt will provide the commencement address at graduation ceremonies on May 14, an event that he is excited about participating in as well as returning to his alma mater, even if there are still conflicts.
"The good news is, I might have to miss a playoff game to do this," Whitsitt stated. "The bad news is, I've never missed a playoff game in my life. But I really got to the point where every time you're invited back, I can't make it because you've got something going on."
He went on to say that his wife, Jan, and his daughter, Lily, a junior in high school who is looking at colleges, helped influence his decision to come back.
"I've got a lot of good feelings about Stevens Point and I'm very proud of that school," said Whitsitt, who also has a son, Sean.
"I think for me, it's time to take a small step back and say, 'Hey, this is an honor for me to be able to come back and some day I may not be able to.'
"It all fit pretty well," he said of the timing. "I'm looking forward to it. I think it will be very exciting, very fun, very nostalgic for me."
Commencement ceremonies will take place on May 14 at 1 p.m. in the Specht Forum, otherwise known as the Sundial. Shortly afterward, you'll likely find Whitsitt back on a flight to the West Coast, preparing for his next order of business.
(Brilowski is the Sports Editor for The Pointer, the UW-SP student newspaper.)