The autumn quarter is coming to an end at DePaul University. The vivid leaves covering the campus grounds will be covered with snow. The L is still running. Wintrust Arena is still standing. But one big thing is missing -- the students.
After working in a conference office for many years, the missing piece for DeWayne Peevy has always been the students. COVID-19 has taken the most important element away from him this season.
Crowned as the director of athletics at DePaul in late August, Peevy hasn’t let the unprecedented times stop him from working toward his vision.
Before arriving at DePaul, Peevy had a 12-year stint at the University of Kentucky, where he most recently served as the deputy athletics director. What he misses the most about Kentucky is the people.
“Obviously being in this industry you’ll have connections with people that you’ve worked with and coaches,” Peevy said. “I still talk to John Calipari at least once every other day, so those things haven’t escaped me.”
People are also what led him to DePaul -- even if most of them aren’t physically there at this time.
“Getting on campus and mentoring the young people to give them opportunities that I hoped to have when I was in school too -- that was the missing piece for me that really led me to DePaul,” Peevy said.
Peevy is a family man. If he’s not at work, he’s with his wife and kids. Beyond his experience at Kentucky, he also brings strong family values when it comes to implementing a family atmosphere with his staff and the athletics community at DePaul.
(L-R) Peevy's daughter Kaitlyn, AD Peevy, his wife Allison and his son Braden. Photo Courtesy of DeWayne Peevy's Instagram.
“How do we become that family that we always talk about?” Peevy said. “We are the front porch of the university. We are the thing that people see, to decide what they think of us. A lot of times their first interaction with the university is watching our men’s basketball team in the NCAA Tournament. That’s good and bad, that’s why we have to be of high integrity when we mess up.”
Peevy’s goal for DePaul is to become a premier athletic program in the Big East Conference. He hopes to achieve that goal with five pillars he calls the “ABC’s of DePaul Athletics.”
His five pillars are academic excellence, building a DePaul brand, championship experiences, developing people and external outreach.
“Building a DePaul brand is making it a destination spot for our coaches and staff, not a steppingstone job,” Peevy said. “That starts with me in this seat as the athletic director. This can't be a steppingstone job if this is going to be the DePaul that we all want.”
Within the first quarter of his reign at DePaul, Peevy has already been excelling in external outreach. With the pandemic giving him more downtime, his primary focus has been meeting with people virtually to create relationships and a mutual understanding of goals.
Beyond having one-on-one conversations with head coaches, department heads and staff, Peevy also is having virtual conversations with professors and students outside of the athletics department.
“Having only been in his position for six weeks, it was impressive how DeWayne took the time to meet with our sports management graduate students,” Andy Clark, director of sports management programs at DePaul, said. “He was so open and conversational about his background and vision for DePaul Athletics.”
Peevy relates to the students on a deeper level than many others in his position would because he’s finishing up his master’s degree at Kentucky.
“As a fellow MBA student, he connected with each of the students not just as a sports industry leader but as their peer as well,” Clark said.
He’s in a cohort with thirteen other students. The most recent classes he completed were managing global challenges -- right on time for a pandemic -- and financial management.
“I really enjoy it because, I mean, what an opportunity it is for me as an athletic director to say that I’ve been in a learning environment. Especially during this pandemic just like our students that can relate to the challenges of it,” Peevy said. “The things I’m learning right now, if I got my masters many years ago, these things didn’t exist.”
In an effort to get DePaul back at the forefront of Chicago, Peevy has been setting up virtual alumni huddles with legends like Mark Aguirre, Wilson Chandler, Bobby Simmons and others.
“I’ve talked to some of the best and brightest in DePaul history,” Peevy said. “Especially on the men’s basketball side. Trying to get back at being Chicago’s team, nobody’s taken that spot. It’s there waiting for us. We have got to get back at being connected to Chicago in a big way. And I hope I can help provide that connection.”
Providing those connections for DePaul won’t be too difficult for Peevy since he has many of them. Four of his former program’s players (Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo) were in the NBA Finals this year.
“That was fun,” Peevy said. “In the last 12 years at Kentucky, we’ve had a lot of players in the NBA. A lot of guys that I’m going to have to buy dinner for when they come to Chicago because they’re all saying that I’m buying now that I’ve got a big job.”
After congratulating Davis on his first NBA championship, Peevy reminded him that Chicago is always here waiting for him when he wants to visit.
Peevy with Anthony Davis. Photo Courtesy of DeWayne Peevy's Instagram.
“I told him I need him to come to my fantasy camp we’re trying to put together next summer or something,” Peevy said. “You don’t have to be a DePaul guy. You could be a Chicagoan. So, come back and see Chicago. Bring the trophy.”
Peevy emphasized that he is open to all ideas -- not just from the staff -- but from the students as well. He is hoping to build that family environment across the entire campus, and he acknowledges that it takes student engagement to make that possible.
“We don't want to just ask you to come out and support us, we want to support you too,” Peevy said. “Make it reciprocal, that's what family does. Right? Support each other. And that is what we are trying to create here at DePaul.”
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