A renovation of Hancock Stadium figures to be at the top of Friedman's to-do list when he officially begins his new post. Ironically, ISU announced when Friedman was on campus for his interview that the stands in Hancock Stadium's south end zone would be removed this summer after an engineering study found them to be potentially unsafe.

"From my standpoint football and softball are top priorities, working together with the university to get those done," he said during the open forum.

Before joining Louisville in 2001, Friedman was involved in fundraising activities for five years as associate AD for external operations at Central Michigan and four years as assistant AD for external operations at East Tennessee State.

Friedman earned two degrees from the University of Illinois -- a bachelor's in marketing in 1989 and a master's in athletic administration in 1992. He worked as an assistant to the associate athletic director at Illinois from 1988-91 before heading to East Tennessee State.