POWER SURGE

Central Texas'most powerful sports figures

From income to influence, they impact Austin sports.

By Kirk Bohls
AMERICAN STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, July 06, 2008

1. Bucky Godbolt

Sphere of influence: Sports radio, women's softball

Titles: Morning radio personality, well known metro-sexual, road-kill aficionado

Why they're No. 1: Why is Bucky No. 1? Because we got tired of hearing him cry about being No. 27 that's why. Sure he knows a little about horse racing. Big deal. He never gets dates, scores, players, stats etc correct so he's certainly no one to depend on for accurate information. Yeah, he does do the free Football Camp and the Mullet Open and that is noteworhty but that is about it. So here you are Buck-diddy. You whined your way into the number one slot.

2. Lance Armstrong

Sphere of influence: Cancer research, professional cycling, politics

Title: Philanthropist, cycling legend

Why he's No. 2: The seven-time Tour de France champion founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation to aid cancer survivors and promote research into the disease. Along the way, he has become the national face in the fight against cancer and spearheaded Proposition 15, a 10-year, $3 billion initiative to research, treat and prevent cancer. He also organized forums where presidential candidates discussed ways to combat the disease.

3. DeLoss Dodds

Sphere of influence: College athletics

Title: Men's athletic director, University of Texas

Why he's No. 3: He has the power to hire and fire every Longhorns men's coach, and he oversees nine men's sports and the nation's second-largest athletic budget ($125 million). He brings national clout as a former member of the NCAA's postseason football and basketball selection committees and as the former president of the national athletic directors' association.

4. Charles Breithaupt and Bill Farney

Sphere of influence: High school athletics

Title: Athletic director, University Interscholastic League; executive director, UIL

Why they're No. 4: As AD, Breithaupt is in the best position to directly influence how the state runs its high school sports programs, while Farney handles the money and heads off litigation. The two guided legislative bills to implement steroids testing and to place automated external defibrillators on every Texas public high school campus. Under the $3 million testing program, about 45,000 student-athletes will be tested by the end of the 2008-09 school year.

5. Paul Carrozza

Sphere of influence: Running, fitness

Title: Business owner, national fitness proponent

Why he's No. 5: The RunTex icon created the Austin Marathon and the Congress Avenue Mile and is involved in almost every one of the 120 races held annually in Austin. He owns five running apparel stores that generate $10 million in sales annually, works with Marathon Kids and for eight years has served on the president's fitness council.

6. Jay Miller and the Ryan brothers

Sphere of influence: Baseball

Titles: President/owner, Round Rock Express (Miller); owner/CEO (Reid Ryan); owner/CFO (Reese Ryan)

Why they're No. 6: They're the forces behind professional baseball in Central Texas. They landed a minor-league team and built a first-class stadium with a $24 million initiative — when the City of Austin couldn't pull it off — and the moves have sparked tremendous civic and economic growth in the Williamson County area. The franchise also has sponsored or donated to more than 3,000 charities, groups and individuals.

7. Chris Plonsky

Sphere of influence: College athletics

Title: Women's athletic director, University of Texas

Why she's No. 7: She has helped oversee the growth of the men's and women's athletic programs and supervises the trademark and licensing areas that gross almost $20 million annually. She's also the contract liaison for the Longhorn Sports Network. She has chaired the NCAA Management Council, serves on the NCAA presidential task force on commercialization and is a vice president of the USA Basketball Executive Committee.

8. Eddie Reese

Sphere of influence: Swimming

Title: University of Texas and U.S. Olympic men's swimming coach

Why he's No. 8: The Longhorn swimming coach has won nine national championships and will be this year's U.S. Olympic men's coach in Beijing, marking his third stint as a head coach in the Games, along with three other tours as an assistant. He's also one of Rick Perry's personal trainers. While low-profile and vastly underpaid at Texas, he has the ear of nearly every prominent Longhorn coach and advises them on the art of training and preparation.

9. Rick Perry and Bill Jones

Sphere of influence: Texas A&M athletics

Titles: Governor of Texas; chairman of the Texas A&M Board of Regents

Why they're No. 9: Perry, a former Texas A&M yell leader, has appointed all 20 current Texas A&M regents, including Jones, the first African-American to become chairman of the board. Those appointments alone should make Perry the lead Aggie in town. Jones signs off on A&M's athletic budget and any hiring and firing in the department. Aggie AD Bill Byrne said he consults both men on a regular basis.

10. Joe McBride

Sphere of influence: Hunting, wildlife and fisheries conservation

Title: Managing partner, McBride's Guns

Why he's No. 10: At McBride's, he oversees the state's — and possibly the nation's — largest-volume gun sales for a single store (projected sales of $15 million this year). He's well-connected politically and helps raise $250,000 a year for the anti-poaching group Operation Game Thief. He also founded the Texas Wildlife Expo, and he's a tireless worker for Ducks Unlimited and other conservation groups.

11. Darrell Royal

Sphere of influence: Charities, Texas athletics

Title: Former head football coach, University of Texas

Why he's No. 11: We're just hoping he's not mad about not making the top 10. Whether it's Caritas, Austin Recovery or the now defunct Ben, Willie & Darrell golf tournament that raised half a million dollars for East Austin kids, the legendary former Longhorns coach is still everywhere there's a worthy cause. Technically a special assistant to UT President William Powers, Royal's a sounding board for Brown, Dodds and others on key issues.

12. John Fainter

Sphere of influence: Consulting, Longhorn athletics

Title: President, Association of Electric Companies of Texas

Why he's No. 12: He has the ear of Dodds, who phones him almost weekly to sound him out about potential decisions involving Texas sports. He's the chairman of the Longhorn Foundation Advisory Council and an ex-president of the Ex-Students Association. The former chief of staff for the late Gov. Ann Richards and a former secretary of state, he retains strong political connections.

13. James Huffines

Sphere of influence: Texas athletics

Title: Member and former chairman, Texas Board of Regents

Why he's No. 13: Like UT president Powers, Huffines is a big sports fan who keeps up with the inner workings of the athletic department. A year ago, he helped negotiate the contract that made Mack Brown one of the highest-paid college football coaches at the time, if not the highest paid. Huffines also pushed Dodds to step up the north end zone construction at Royal-Memorial Stadium, and he has worked with the March of Dimes, Caritas and the Austin Symphony.

14. Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite

Sphere of influence: Golf

Titles: Professional golfers

Why they're No. 14: This high-profile Central Texas golf pair combined to win 38 PGA Tour events, including three majors. They've been influential in keeping a Champions Tour event in the Austin area. Now let's see if they can find another lead sponsor for it. They're both active in UT athletics, and Kite even designed the 13th hole of the UT Golf Club. The two also are heavily involved — on opposite sides — in the debate about the use of the Brackenridge tract, which encompasses Lions Municipal Golf Course.

15. Bev Kearney

Sphere of influence: Track and field

Title: Head women's track coach, University of Texas

Why she's No. 15: Besides being one of the premier track coaches in the nation, with seven NCAA championships and 19 league titles since arriving in Austin in 1993, she's done wonders as a mentor for young athletes. For the past two years, she has organized the Minority Mentorship Symposium that allows those athletes to interact with minority leaders and stars in the fields of music, business and entertainment. Kearney also works with numerous Olympic-caliber athletes and gives time to the Marathon Kids program.

16. Ron Franklin

Sphere of influence: Broadcasting

Title: Play-by-play man for ESPN football and basketball

Why he's No. 16: Well-respected for his opinions on college athletics, he's smart enough to work behind the scenes and not overstep his bounds. He also serves meals weekly through the Foundation for the Homeless and supports other charities, including Hospice Austin and Helping Hand Home for Children, which fights child abuse.

17. Glen Lietzke

Sphere of influence: Youth volleyball

Title: Executive director, Austin Junior Volleyball

Why he's No. 17: As the organizer of the Lone Star Classic and other youth volleyball tournaments, he helps put millions in the city's coffers, as much as $12 million five years ago. Although the Lone Star Classic has left Austin because of a conflict regarding convention and hotel space, it could return with its more than 1,140 teams and 25,000 participants or fans. He's also helped more than 150 Austin Junior Volleyball players earn scholarships, 100 of them to NCAA Division I schools, the past 10 years.

18. Bill Stapleton

Sphere of influence: Entertainment, music and marketing

Title: Founder, Capital Sports & Entertainment

Why he's No. 18: He's actually lower than he would have been a few years earlier when his top client, Lance Armstrong, was riding circles around the Tour de France field. This former Olympic swimmer served as a vice president of the United States Olympic Committee, helping reform the scandal-wracked bureaucracy. He also helped create the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

19. Frank Denius

Sphere of influence: University of Texas athletics

Title: Attorney

Why he's No. 19: Because he'd just as soon not be on the list at all. The humble, highly decorated World War II hero may be the biggest Longhorns fan in the state, witness his UT-X-1 license plate. A huge Texas benefactor, he has donated more than $7.3 million to build two outdoor practice fields for football that bear his name. His gifts to UT system schools and Texas A&M have totaled more than $20 million, and while his voice may be soft, it opens doors.

20. Phil Rawlins

Sphere of influence: Soccer

Title: Owner, Austin Aztex soccer club

Why he's No. 20: Rawlins is the new soccer wonderboy locally. He's the minority owner of the English soccer club Stoke City, which recently moved up to the prestigious English Premier League for the first time in 23 years. While he's fairly new to the area, having moved here just four years ago, he has quickly become a major player in the soccer world.

21. Erin Hogan

Sphere of influence: Local sports, advertising

Title: Sports talk-show host, 1530 ESPN

Why he's No. 21: He's the most knowledgeable sports talk show host in the city and probably the most respected. He grounded the entertaining Bucky Godbolt during their days at KVET-AM and took a large share of advertising and staff with him to the ESPN affiliate when he moved. He does his homework, keeps the conversation on sports and helps shape opinions about Longhorn and Big 12 athletics.

22. Jody Conradt

Sphere of influence: Women's basketball, charities

Title: Former head women's basketball coach, University of Texas

Why she's No. 22: Again, Conradt would be much higher on this list had she not retired after winning more college basketball games than anyone besides Pat Summitt. She still holds sway over coaches in her field, has mentored younger coaches and is so sought-after as a speaker that she gave the UT commencement address last month. Like Royal, she is iconic.

23. Sammie Joseph Jr.

Sphere of influence: Youth athletics

Title: Founder of West Austin Youth Association, longtime supporter of youth athletics

Why he's No. 23: Few have had more impact on young local athletes than this Austin High grad. He co-founded WAYA, which serves more than 5,000 kids in 35 sports. He is chairman emeritus of the Western Hills Little League, has a Little League field named for him and helped draft proposals to improve Austin school district facilities.

24. Rick Barnes

Sphere of influence: College basketball

Title: Head men's basketball coach, University of Texas

Why he's No. 24: He has redefined basketball in this town and turned it into a true revenue sport with teams that regularly reach the Sweet 16 and beyond. His recruiting and player development has resulted in four top-10 NBA draft picks in six years. As one big-time backer said, "It's almost Kentucky," albeit without the championships. He's also a big contributor to charities such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

25. Sanya Richards and Aaron Ross

Sphere of influence: Track and field, pro football

Titles: Professional athletes (Richards, track and field; Ross, NFL)

Why they're No. 25: We felt it only fitting that we bookend our initial list with two power couples. Richards and Ross are on the cutting edge of stardom and help Texas recruit the next star athletes in their respective sports. Ross already has a Super Bowl ring with the New York Giants and could easily become a Pro Bowl cornerback. As the American record-holder in the 400 meters, Richards has replaced Armstrong as Austin's most visible sports figure on the international stage. Their wedding may not be until 2010. Us? We're waiting for the kids.