Paul Krebs is in his second year as the University of New Mexico's 12th director of athletics. He was named to he position on March 13, 2006, and began serving UNM on June 1, 2006. Krebs recently was named Vice-President for Athletics and is part of new president David Schmidly's Executive Cabinet.

If there's one word that sums up Paul Krebs as an athletics administrator, it's vision; vision of better facilities for academics and athletics; vision of challenging for conference championships and national recognition in every sport; vision of ranking in the top-50 in the U.S. Sports Academy Directors Cup on an annual basis; vision of engaging fans and the community; vision of hiring the best coaches and staff; vision of major-donor cultivation and improved fund-raising efforts; and vision that is the result of a well thought out plan that makes all of the above realistic.

In a little more than a year, Krebs and architects have worked diligently on a master plan that provides a template for the future look of all facilities on UNM's South Campus. It's an ambitious project with a price tag approaching $100 million, but it is part of Krebs' long-range strategic plan that is really part of his mantra: provide the best possible resources that will give coaches and student-athletes the best chance to succeed academically and athletically.

Facility improvements at soccer, track and field, softball and department offices will be completed soon, as will the $7 million indoor practice facility located south of University Stadium. A multi-million renovation to The Pit that will make the state's most recognizable venue more functional and fan-friendly is expected to begin in 2008.

Krebs certainly appears to have a knack for hiring head coaches. While his legacy currently states he was the man that gave Urban Meyer his first head coaching job (at Bowling Green in 2001), Krebs appears to be on the same successful hiring track at New Mexico.

The highlight came in March when former Indiana All-American and long-time Iowa head coach Steve Alford was named the Lobos' new basketball coach. Krebs also hired head coaches in baseball (Ray Birmingham), softball (Ty Singleton), track and field/cross country (Joe Franklin) and volleyball (Jeff Nelson), and all of them had led their previous institutions into postseason competition on numerous occasions. Head coaching positions were also filled by a pair of UNM graduates in the sports of women's golf (Jill Trujillo) and skiing (Frederik Landstedt).

Krebs is no stranger to New Mexico. Prior to his appointment at UNM, Krebs and his family vacationed in the state numerous times. His wife, Marjori, has family in Hobbs and Cloudcroft, N.M., and in West Texas. Krebs' father-in-law, Joe Maddox, was a cattle rancher at what is now the Valles Caldera National Preserve in the Jemez Mountains north of Albuquerque.

The personable Krebs, 51, has 26 years of experience in collegiate athletics administration, including seven years (2000-07) as director of athletics at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Krebs' emphasis on academics is readily apparent. Bowling Green had a 76% graduation rate in the final NCAA report before he came to UNM, the highest in school history and the best in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Additionally, the BGSU graduation rate for student-athletes exhausting eligibility was at least 92% every year from 2003-05.

Athletically, the 2004-05 season was one of the best ever at Bowling Green. The football team played on national television five times, captured MAC West and Motor City Bowl titles and finished with a final national ranking of No. 23 in both of the major polls. Women's basketball, men's soccer, and women's soccer all advanced to the finals of their respective conference tournaments.

The BGSU women's softball program won the 2004 MAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

The Falcons football program started an unprecedented string of success in 2001 when Krebs hired Urban Meyer as head coach. After six straight losing seasons from 1995-2000, Meyer, who is now the head man at Florida, went 17-6 in his two years at BGSU.

Bolstered by Meyer's success, the Falcons enjoyed their most successful five-year period in program history, compiling a 43-17 record from 2001-05. In addition to numerous national television appearances, BGSU won consecutive bowl games (2003-04) for only the second time in school history and climbed to No. 16 in the nation during the 2003 season.

The BGSU women's basketball team finished 28-3 in 2005-06, the most wins in MAC history. The Falcons appeared in the national rankings, posted a 19-game winning streak and captured the MAC Tournament championship for the second year in a row.

The women's soccer team also won the 2005 MAC regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. BGSU softball tied a school record with 37 victories while gymnast Jessica Guyer was named a finalist for the Walter Byers Award.

From a facilities and fundraising standpoint, Krebs acquired a $3.5 million gift at BGSU, the single highest donation ever given to the athletics department. That enabled the school to begin construction on an $8.7 million student-athlete center.

While at BGSU, Krebs was a member of the President's Advisory Council, Student Affairs Executive Council, Homecoming Committee and he served as chair of Student Affairs' Training and Development. He also chaired the University Automated Ticket Committee and served on the University-wide advisory committee for web technology. Krebs began his professional career in collegiate athletics as the Assistant Ticket Director at the University of Oklahoma in 1981. He was promoted to Ticket Director in 1983.

Krebs' 14-year tenure at The Ohio State University started in 1985 when he served as the Ticket Director. He was named Assistant Athletics Director in 1987, Assistant Athletics Director for Administration in 1991 and Senior Associate Athletics Director in 1993.

In his six years as Senior Associate Athletics Director, Krebs managed the daily operation of the OSU athletics department. He was the point person in the planning and design of Ohio State's Jerome Schottenstein Center (basketball/hockey), Jesse Owens Stadium (track/soccer) and Bill Davis Stadium (baseball). He coordinated the renovation of storied Ohio Stadium (football) and was actively involved in fund-raising and securing corporate sponsorship for these facilities. At one point in his tenure, Krebs was overseeing $300 million in new construction on the OSU campus.

A native of Canfield, Ohio, Krebs earned a bachelor's degree in Business from Bowling Green in 1978 and a master's degree in Athletic Administration from Ohio State in 1981.

Nationally, Krebs was a member of the NCAA Baseball Committee that is responsible for college baseball, including the College Baseball World Series. He had to relinquish that appointment after accepting the position at UNM. Krebs is currently a member of the NCAA Division I Football Issues Committee.

Krebs has served as a faculty member for the Division IA Athletic Director's Institute. He has presented at a number of national conferences on a variety of topics, including athletic facility construction. He served on the Games Committee for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) 2002 Pigskin Classic. In addition, he was tournament manager for the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships in 1987 and 1995.

At the Mid-American Conference level, Krebs served three years on the Infractions Committee and was also chair of the MAC Baseball Committee. He served on the MAC TV Committee that negotiated a new TV contract with ESPN.

Krebs' wife, Marjori, is an assistant professor in the UNM College of Education. She received her Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Bowling Green in December of 2006. They have two children, a daughter, Taylor, 18, who is a freshman at the University of Oklahoma, and a son, Jacob, 14.