Spider athletics navigates a shifting college sports landscape

We check in with John Hardt, who is helming Spider athletics at a time of rapid change in the college sports landscape. He is vice president and director of athletics.

How has the transfer portal affected our ability to build competitive athletics programs?
It’s changed how our programs build their rosters, but it hasn’t impacted our ability to field winning teams. We’ve just had two of the most competitively successful years for Spider athletics in a generation, and just last spring, women’s basketball and men’s lacrosse won their first-ever NCAA tournament games. Our coaches have done a great job adjusting to this new reality.

How do you leverage Richmond’s unique strengths to attract and develop student-athletes?
There are so many benefits to being a student-athlete at Richmond and so many resources available. I think our biggest challenge is effectively communicating it all to a student who might be hearing from multiple schools, all at the same time.

When we’re able to show a prospective Spider everything that comes with being a student-athlete at Richmond — the coaching, the training, the personal development, the career preparation, the academic experience, the campus — it can be very persuasive.

How do you prioritize and invest in facilities and resources, ensuring a positive experience without the budgets of larger universities?
When the Robins family made the gift that led to the creation of the Robins Center, it demonstrated how important it is for us to have outstanding facilities for our programs to compete in and for students, fans, and alumni to support Spider student-athletes.

We’re incredibly fortunate to have a group of generous, loyal benefactors who have allowed us to continue to build and enhance our facilities, which were just ranked No. 7 in all of college athletics by the Princeton Review. I’m really proud of that recognition, and I hope every other Spider feels the same way.

How do we prepare Richmond student-athletes for life after college, both professionally and personally?
We have an entire program devoted to supporting this goal. Spider Performance, or SP4, is a hub that ensures that our student-athletes have the resources to be successful in academics, athletics, and their personal and professional endeavors after their playing days. It’s a tremendous undertaking, but it’s what’s needed to get Spiders ready for the next stage of their lives.

It also gives us an advantage in attracting the next generation of Spiders. We can point to the success our student-athletes have at Richmond and after they graduate.

What role do you see our athletics programs playing in enhancing UR’s reputation?
Athletics is one of the best ways we can reach people. From national broadcasts to regional media to people who come onto campus for the first time to attend a Spider game, athletics makes our web wider and stronger. When you have the alignment that we have between what the university and the athletics department value — competitive excellence, rigorous academics, a sense of community — the impact is all the greater.