Part II of the year-end “State of OSU” continues with the recent sit-down interview athletic director Bob De Carolis had with the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

There are more updates on construction, particularly involving the Olympic sports.

De Carolis also reveals that the athletic department is at a point where it’s trying to give back the regular student-body.

How are the stadium ticket sales?

Ticket sales are great. We are ahead of last year as far as renewals are concerned. We will be kicking off a season ticket sale campaign for those people who are new. We have a great schedule. We have an exciting team coming back, particularly on offense. We anticipate sales will increase. And that’s a key component of this financial structure. While we sold well over 40,000 tickets to most of the games last year, a lot of them were single-game tickets, which is good. But, it would be better if they were season tickets. What comes with the season tickets is the BASF donation. And that really generates tremendous amounts of revenue and resources to reinvest back into your program. That’s really the key goal, is trying to continually to try and increase the season ticket base in the football stadium.

What’s the update on stadium construction and Phase II?

We’re close. We are going under the assumption we are going to get there in the near future. We are going through the planning like we are going to do it this December. We still have to go through the proper channels for approval, whether it be the state or the bonding issues. We are moving forward, but we are not there, yet. We can’t make a definitive breaking ground (date), but we are shooting for December.

Why has the academic push gone so well?

I think it was a case where we didn’t do anything new. It was a better attention to detail. From the football perspective it was a renewed emphasis with the coaching staff being involved.

With the new wrestling coach, what do you want to see from that program?

Joe Wells did a great job with kids qualifying for nationals and we had a great dual meet record, but for whatever reason when we get to the Pac-10 or the nationals we can’t get to that next step. What’s the missing ingredient? I don’t know. I would hope with the experience of Jim Zalesky and the experience he’s bringing in and the assistants he can attract to help out in the room to make the kids better, I think we have a great chance next year to have a break-through year.

How did the first year go under first-coach Taras Liskevych in volleyball?

The fact that Terry got hired so late he was behind the 8-ball, and there were a lot of injuries last spring, there wasn’t a lot he could do. I think those kids competed very well. There was development that went on. In that sport, you can’t teach height, and I think he did a good job bringing in some taller kids. And like all the other sports, people are starting to take notice. We are coming after you and the coaches are sending that message loud and clear.

Any more Gill annex news?

We are looking at the potential of a collaborative effort with the campus on what we would call an academic success center that would not only serve student-athletes, but also serve the general student population we would term at-risk. There have been a couple articles (saying) that across the state system, 20-25 percent of the freshmen wash out after the first year. Some of that has to do with their financial package — it’s expensive to go to school. A lot of that has to go with first-generation students going to school. With the growing Hispanic population, you have some cultural disadvantages there. There’s a whole host of reasons students are at-risk. So, who do they hook into to stay here? If you look at the athletic model you have peers, a coaching staff and an academic adviser looking out for you. Who does the normal student have? Who do they go to if they have problems? The idea is to identify who they may be and overlay an athletic type of model so they would have some counselors checking in with them. To do that you need a facility. This is different than what the honors college is doing. We would be the lead to try and secure the gifts for that. And part of that, there would be an athletic component to that. Our counselors will be in that building. We can combine services and get more bang for a buck, and then combine things to leverage that. Because you only have so many recourses. And that’s part of the Gill thing, and that’s about $35 million.

Is there a timetable for this?

“We want to try and do those things in the next three-to-five years, and that depends on funding. Some things are easier than others. The outside of Gill and the inside of Gill can be done in pieces. The academic building and annex is a different story. You have to have all the money in the bank.”

What’s it like for OSU to host a gymnastics national?

“It takes a tremendous amount of energy from the staff. When you count up all the contests and the fundraising and public relation activities we do it takes organization and time. You start putting nationals, regionals and Super Regionals on top of that it starts to wear your staff out. It was a great effort for the staff, the university and city. You only do this twice every 25 years. None of us will be around when the next one happens. It was a lot of effort, but looking back on it, you hear the response of great town, the state of Oregon was beautiful the kids appreciate it. When things go right, it’s a great feel-good for everybody. We should feel proud as a university and city to pull that off.”

What’s it going to mean for soccer to have lights?

“Lights are going in as we speak. It gets them more exposure with playing Friday night as opposed to during the day, which should help in recruiting.”

Any updates on the cross country course?

“The cross country course has become more complicated and more convoluted than we expected. If there’s a disappointment, there’s a disappointment. The track is moving forward. We should have the survey done to see if we can cohabitate with intramurals. That will tell us which way we want to go. The intramural department is trying to get funding for a synthetic field and we can be a partner in that or we can build our own. It depends on what fits where. That’s moving along slower than I want. Once the survey gets done, we’ll try and fundraise for that.”

What are the chances for a diving program? Any other swimming news?

“I don’t think that will happen for the fall. We still have questions on that for now. It’s still status quo. We are getting more long-course practice at Osborn Aquatic Center, and I think that helps.”

How are the golf programs doing?

The women had a great year. They really improved statistically. The men were a little disappointing, but we have good recruits coming in and a transfer. There will be good competition from a young team. The nucleus is there, and you are in a tough conference.”

How’s the boathouse coming for crew?

We have a schematic design for the boathouse. We are implementing a fundraising strategy this summer.”

Now that you have a five-year contract extension, what are the long-term goals?

“Our plate is pretty full. If we can accomplish what we’ve talked about in the next five years, I’ll be extremely happy.”

Any final thoughts?

“We’ve been able to sign coaches to long-term contracts, so we should be able to have some consistency in our staffing. Overall, I’m pleased with the direction we are headed. We still have a long way to go. In this business you are only as good as your last game. It doesn’t matter if it’s on the field or in the classroom or fundraising or whatever, you have to be vigilant and move the program forward. I’m thankful for the student-athletes and the effort the coaches have put in. It’s not an easy job. They should be commended.”