Air Force Academy Athletic Director Hans Mueh will step down in January, months ahead of his planned retirement, academy officials said Wednesday.
The academy says Mueh's move to retire early has nothing to do with an Inspectors General's review into the misconduct of athletes and the values of the athletic program that was given to superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson on Tuesday. Mueh says he decided after Air Force's win over Navy to clear the way for his replacement.
"It would be best for the academy, the new athletic director and my family that I retire in January," Mueh said in a statement.
An Air Force Academy graduate, Mueh was a chemistry professor at the school before he was tabbed as athletic director in 2005. The bulk of his tenure was marked by a resurgence in football and hockey with up-and-down results in men's basketball.
"It has been my incredible honor to serve as the academy's athletic director for the past nine years, to be associated with this amazing institution for 38 years, and I am extremely thankful for my time here," Mueh said in a statement.
Johnson praised Mueh Wednesday.
"Dr. Mueh is an honored combat veteran who has served his nation for 50-plus years, 38 of which have been at our great academy," Johnson said in a statement. "We are indebted to him for his faithful service and unwavering commitment."
Mueh put the mission of building officers first, said Retired Chief Master Sgt. Todd Salzman, who served the academy's top enlisted airman during Mueh's tenure.
"He's a pretty good guy," the chief said.
Mueh had long planned to retire when his contract expires in June, 2015.
An August Gazette investigation put Mueh in the cross hairs, with critics saying a "hands-off" management style may have contributed to misconduct among athletes, especially members of the football team. Mueh defended his record, noting that he kept coaches on a short leash and had been instrumental in replacing legendary football coach Fisher DeBerry with Troy Calhoun after DeBerry came under fire for comments deemed racially insensitive.
At a meeting of the academy's Board of Visitors last month, Mueh described how he has worked to clean up conduct issues in his department, which includes 27 NCAA Division I teams. He also described shortcomings.
"We're good at stamina and courage and teamwork and self-confidence and self-discipline and the indomitable will to win," Mueh told the board, which advises the Defense Department on academy issues. "The area we didn't focus on enough is this culture of commitment and climate of respect."
Athlete conduct issues included allegations that surfaced after a Dec. 2, 2011, party in Manitou Springs. A cadet confidential informant told agents of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations that cadets, including a core group of football players, used drugged rum to incapacitate women for sex.
Those claims led to "Operation Gridiron," which resulted in the court-martial convictions of three athletes. Five more cadets received administrative punishment that resulted in their dismissal, another half-dozen cadets resigned and three were kicked out for unrelated misconduct.
Johnson ordered the review of athletics in August, prompting a probe in which 15 inspectors spent weeks combing Mueh's department. Johnson spent hours getting a briefing on the review Tuesday, but no results have been announced.
An academy spokesman said the timing of the briefing and Mueh's retirement announcement is coincidence.
"It has nothing to do with the review," Lt. Col. Brus Vidal said.
While admitting athlete misconduct and calling for recruiting reform, Mueh has said the misdeeds of the few don't define the academy's athletes.
At any given time, 1,000 of the academy's 4,000 cadets participate in intercollegiate sports, with more than 100 of them playing football. The group of athletes that got in trouble represented a small fraction of the athletes, Mueh said in July.
"What I don't want to lose track of are the great things that 95 to 98 percent of the athletes are doing," said Mueh, who played soccer at the academy.
Mueh, who had hinted at a January retirement last month, successfully defended the academy's teams from budget cuts that threatened to eliminate several squads in 2013. The athletic department lost 30 government-funded positions, including nine assistant coaches, but Mueh said private donations allow the school to sustain sports programs, including fencing, volleyball, hockey and football.
A search committee is at the academy this week to review applications submitted by would-be successors to Mueh. The academy conducted a nationwide search for the position, which falls directly under Johnson.
The new athletic director will start at about $170,000 per year. Johnson said the relatively low pay for the position shows the academy's desire to find a candidate who wants to come to Colorado Springs for the right reasons.
"I had said if we lose some games it's a disappointment, but if we lose our character it's a disaster," Johnson said last month. "That's why we're not paying very much for an athletic director. It's because it is not about going to the BCS (college football's Bowl Championship Series). We're not going to the BCS anyway."
©2014 The (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Gazette. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
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