GCCC's Harp, Delgado settling in to new duties

10/5/2012

By ADAM HOLT

aholt@gctelegram.com

It's been a busy first three weeks for new Garden City Community College athletic director Dennis Harp.

Lots of athletes, coaches and faculty to meet. Lots of people in the community to meet. But it's something Harp relishes.

"It's very important to get to know everyone," he said. "We start inside-out, right here on campus. Obviously, with our coaches and our faculty and staff. Then we try to reach out to the community. It will take time, but we're gonna reach out and get to know them, let them know what we're doing. Hopefully get them excited — been very impressed with our crowds at our football games. Thought we had a very nice turnout at the volleyball game (last Thursday)."

Things have also gotten busier for Dan Delgado, Harp's assistant athletic director. Already the cross country coach at GCCC, Delgado took the position at the request of president Herbert Swender before Harp's hiring, while Ryan Ruda was still serving as interim AD. Delgado said it became official Sept. 24.

It's been an adjustment for Delgado, who credits support from his fellow administrators — administrative assistant Ashley Rutti, former AD Bob Larson and assistant athletic director for student success Jake Ripple — for helping him handle his many new duties.

"It's a lot of parts," Delgado said. "And those parts have to mesh and work together. So right now, it's all a learning process; a lot of things, a little bit at a time. As far as preparing for a game, and reporting on some games, setting up for games and taking down for games; and booster club and some meetings. It's not any one thing at this point."

Delgado said he's being "spoon-fed" the load right now, and is handling a lot of small issues as he gets acclimated to the position. He's been announcing and organizing staff at the Broncbusters' home volleyball games, as well as working at home football games. Wednesday night, he was handling all the behind-the-scenes operations for the women's soccer game.

And those are just the things the public can see.

"Basically, following up things, taking care of some of the day-to-day details, the little problems that will rise up," he said of his other responsibilities. "Something not working properly in the building, or something gone wrong here or there, getting a heads-up here or there, those kind of things that are day-to-day. Not totally personnel issues, nothing like that, but minor issues, like the weight room not being in the order it needs to be. A lot of heads-up, a lot of communication."

Both Harp and Delgado are trying to learn new positions at the same time, as well as build a relationship together. How that relationship evolves remains to be seen, but so far, so good.

"Dan's wonderful," Harp said. "And Dan has so many wonderful qualities about him. First of all, he's very knowledgeable. He's very professional. He's good not only with the student athletes, but his co-workers and with the donors. He's a real asset for me to have here."