Two years ago, Lewis Gillespie thought it was time to retire from Ball State after 34 years of working at the university. But when former Ball State student and new head football coach Brady Hoke asked his former advisor to stay for two more years, Gillespie said a simple response: "Sure."
Two years later, Gillespie is going through with his retirement. He is stepping down from his as position coordinator of athletic advising at Ball State, ending his 36-year career and leaving behind one of the top student-athlete programs in the nation.
Ball State ranked fourth in the nation in the 2005 NCAA Academic Progress Report, which rates the progress and maintained eligibility of student-athletes at member institutions. Ball State's 88 percent graduation rate -- an average of the past six years -- ranks first in the nation among public institutions and first in the Mid-American Conference. And when Gillespie looked back on his career, he said he is most proud of seeing his students graduate.
Since becoming the coordinator of athletic advising in 1992, Gillespie advised around 500 students each year, as well as met with hundred of recruits and their parents throughout the years.
"I saw 142 recruits during the past year," Gillespie said. "We talk academics and show them the Learning Center and all the tutoring we can do."
Gillespie put a lot of hours into his job of meeting with and advising athletes. Sometimes, he would work on his own time, swimming coach Bob Thomas said.
"Lew is one of those guys that goes beyond the call of duty," Thomas said. "Any time you ask him for a favor or meet with incoming recruits, he'd do it."
Gillespie doesn't lose contact with his players after graduation, either. When former Cardinal baseball player Travis Minix came to Indianapolis to play in a minor league game last summer, Gillespie made the trip to the game so that he could chat with his former student.
"I sat with his parents and his brother, and about every three innings, I would go and sit in the bullpen with Travis and just talk to him for a while," Gillespie said.
Gillespie, who graduated from Ball State in 1964, said working with the coaches at Ball State was a great experience. He worked with Thomas for the past 26 years.
"He is a great friend of the coaches and a great mentor for the athletes," Thomas said. "He's been a great colleague and a friend.
The first thing Gillespie will do after retiring will be celebrate his 64th birthday on Sunday, and he will continue to sing in the barbershop quartet "Sounds Familiar" in his free time. He joined the quartet, which performs at nursing homes and private parties, in 1976. Gillespie also plays in a Ball State golf league in the summer.
But Thomas has other ideas of how Gillespie might spend his retirement: "As long as he knows how to fish, then he'll have plenty of time to fill that void."
For the past few weeks, Gillespie has been training his replacement. Freshman Advisor Mark Parkison will replace Gillespie as the head of athletic advising. Parkison said he appreciated learning from Gillespie since becoming an advisor in 2001.
"I'm looking to continue the service Lew gave [the students]," Parkison said. "He's set the bar high."
Parkison, a 1990 Ball State graduate, plans to start using the Internet more often for communication with student-athletes, by contacting them more through e-mail and starting a Web site for student-athletes.
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