Norm Blake, the new boss of the U.S. Olympic Committee, has nothing short of a major overhaul planned for the Colorado Springs-based organization, including reducing the size of the staff.
But no changes are needed in the USOC's relationship with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, Blake said Tuesday during a telephone interview with reporters from around the country."I am very confident both (SLOC President Mitt Romney) and I feel we're on the right course," Blake said. "Mitt, if he has an issue, he just picks up the phone and discusses it."
There won't be any additional money for the national governing bodies of winter sports to help ready athletes for the 2002 Winter Games, either, Blake said.
"We're maxed out in terms of our financial support for winter sports," he said, noting he asked each of the governing bodies whether more money would mean more medals. The answer, Blake said, was no.
"We're serious that Salt Lake City is a maximum effort for our country to do the very, very best it can in every respect. . . . I'd be shocked, absolutely floored if they said we're letting them down in any way."
Blake said he is ready to unveil his strategic plan for streamlining the USOC Friday during a meeting of the organization's executive committee in Boston.
He's about a month ahead of the schedule he set for himself when he was hired in February. And already there have been major changes at the USOC, including the resignation of several key officials.
Tuesday, Blake announced that longtime financial director John Samuelson was stepping down on July 1. Dick Schultz, the executive director, and Dave Ogrean, the marketing director, are already out.
Scott Blackmun, the USOC's legal counsel and deputy executive director, is not only staying but can expect to play a bigger role. Blake said Blackmun is "one of our strongest incumbent leaders."
Blake wasn't willing to say how many staff members will lose their jobs in the reorganization, but he described the USOC as top-heavy. "There are an awful lot of cooks spoiling the broth here," he said.
Next week, Blake said, he'll meet with the staff to talk about the reductions. "I will make them as quickly as possible," he said, promising to bring in outplacement counselors to help employees.
First, though, his reorganization plan needs to be approved by the USOC leadership. Besides cutting employees, Blake is also proposing a new way of looking at the sports governing bodies.
Not surprisingly, Blake, who comes from a business background similar to Romney's, sees them as business partners. "Or, if you will, franchisees and us the franchisors."
That means they'll be expected to produce medals if they want money from the USOC. "There's a lot of noses conceivably that could be out of joint here because we do not have unlimited resources," he said.
Blake is willing to give the sports bodies another eight years to deliver. "I told them this is a strictly business equation," he said. "The end goal is medal performance."
Other changes he wants include setting up a national governing body for disabled athletes that the USOC is committed to giving $3 million a year. The group could then use the money to buy assistance from the other sports bodies.
The move is intended to reduce the friction between disabled athletes and the national governing bodies. Blake also promised the new disabled athletes group will have representation on the USOC's executive committee.
Blake also wants to boost the image of the USOC so corporate sponsors feel they're getting their money's worth. The USOC "brand," he said, "could be stronger and more valuable to sponsors than it has been in the past."