Magazine Article - "Tom Hansen: A Winning Percentage" (Winter 2009): Children have lofty goals of becoming the next great basketball player or football superstar, playing in a packed arena or sold-out stadium. They envision what it would feel like to hit the wall first and win a gold medal for their country in swimming. Many will fall short of these astronomical expectations and put their dreams away for another day. But for some, these wild imaginations will turn into possibilities. And for a few, they will turn into realities.

In June 2009, Thomas Hansen, Washington ’59, will retire as the PAC 10 commissioner. Hansen has played a unique role in each of the situations listed above as the commissioner of one of the most dominant conferences in collegiate sports. After 26 years of service, he will be remembered as one of the most successful commissioners in history. In the 1996-97 season, he led the Conference to a historic 14 NCAA championships, a feat that has yet to be rivaled. Although he has experienced much success, Hansen has continued to adopt a sense of humility and gratitude for all his endeavors.

If looking for a commissioner who only travels by private jets, engages in dirty politics to get his teams ahead and bends the rules for his coaches and presidents, Hansen’s not your guy. Instead he actively defends his athletes and what he knows is right. Hansen served on two major NCAA groups, the Gender Equity Task Force and the Division I Task Force on Restructuring, two of the most prominent in the NCAA.

The commissioner states that Beta Theta Pi aided in his development as a young man and its values and mission have continued to serve him while working within the Conference. "I felt I had really achieved something when I became a Beta. It gave me the feeling that I could achieve something significant in my career." Hansen said that many of the values and beliefs that Beta Theta Pi represents are apparent within the PAC-10 Conference. He prides himself on the universities giving their student-athletes the proper education, practices and tools they need to succeed in life beyond the competition fields, a quality that is mirrored in Beta Theta Pi.

Bowl Championship Series

One of his greatest accomplishments was his role in establishing the Bowl Championship Series, otherwise known as the BCS. Since almost every game played during the college football season will have a dramatic impact on end results, there is so much attention given to particular games. There is much at stake and much attention given to each of the teams participating in a bowl. A total of 68 NCAA Division I teams are allowed to participate in the bowl games at the end of each season.

"The BCS has been an excellent promotional element that is now part of the college football season," Hansen said. Although the BCS has had a dramatic impact on the football seasons, there is no other collegiate sport that has the same excitement due to an outside contributing factor, such as the BCS. Hansen defends his stance and is proud that the system has created even more enthusiasm and camaraderie for the sport, even amidst recent BCS controversies.

More importantly though, Hansen understands the value of not only the students athletes, but what the game can do for them. He equates Beta Theta Pi to many sports teams, each brother representing a player with all of them working toward a common goal. That goal is to be the best team or fraternity, and to be an example.

The commissioner appreciates healthy rivalries, but he tries to remember that these are young people representing institutions of higher learning. He insists that fans maintain a sense of humility and hold themselves to a higher standard, values that are shared with the Fraternity.

Economic Woes

Although the economy has yet to have a direct impact on the Pacific 10 Conference, Hansen believes that the PAC-10 will begin to feel the crunch of today’s financial losses. "Inevitably, sponsorships will be harder to come by and giving the donations will be harder to achieve. I don’t think we have really seen that yet," Hansen said. A fact is that many of the schools in the conference are state schools, which means they are funded by the governments of those states. The majority of funding comes from private and public sponsors, which is why outside vendors and sponsors are so important to the PAC-10.

Hansen refers to the economy’s troubles as a ripple effect. Will people continue to buy season tickets to the sporting events? If not, the schools lose out on parking fees, concession stand dollars and fan paraphernalia, all of which contribute to the athletic programs and the institutions as a whole.

The commissioner continues to shed light on success and how it is measured. Whether it be by a winning percentage or a graduation rate of his student athletes. Regardless of what or whom people are compared to, Hansen acknowledges that each brother must do his part to incorporate Beta Theta Pi’s values into their everyday lives. "We must continue to learn . . . and I think Beta embraces that value. I am impressed when I read the magazine to learn how many people are, late in life, doing important things," Hansen said.

So regardless if brothers get the chance to compete for a major NCAA conference in athletics or they deem ourselves worthy of that gold medal, Commissioner Hansen makes it clear that when joining Beta Theta Pi, not only will they get to compete with the best and the brightest, but they will win big. No matter what the outcome. — Alex Hammel, Florida '08