May 31, 2012
By Dan Ryan
B-CUAthletics.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Before there was a videography department, there was Karen Zahnen helping film Bethune-Cookman football games.
Before there was a compliance department, Zahnen helped with eligibility forms. Before there were gameday operations, Karen Zahnen was running the concession stand at Wildcat basketball games.
Zahnen, whose final day of a 25-year career with Bethune-Cookman athletics is May 31, can laugh about those days where everybody pitched in and helped out in ways administrative assistants probably will never experience in the 9-to-5 workplace. That's athletics for you.
"I sit back and think about those days a lot,” Zahnen said. “You laugh and you appreciate how much you enjoyed them."
Zahnen started with B-CU Athletic Director Lynn Thompson as the administrative assistant to the Wildcat Athletic Foundation and transitioned over to athletics in 1991.
“She's been a fixture even since,” Thompson said. “A great part of the success of our athletic department can be attributed to Karen's commitment to excellence, her ability to multi-task, and, most of all, her love for Bethune-Cookman University and its family. She's a part of the great legacy of our university, and we will forever be indebted to her for her integrity and sense of family.”
Back in the day, there was the weekday grind, and there was football gameday. Zahnen spent many a Saturday evening on the fourth floor of Municipal stadium helping the late Howard Irvis videotape the games. During basketball season, Saturday afternoons and evenings saw Zahnen in a cramped concession stand in historic Moore Gymnasium pushing peanuts and popcorn. “
It amazes me sometimes how much Karen was able to get done,” said B-CU Assistant Athletic Director For Marketing Matt Knox. “There's a lot of effort needed to pull off all aspect of a game successfully and she did it exceptionally well. Now I see how she keeps this entire department running smoothly. “
With full departments now handling those tasks, especially compliance, Zahnen's main roll as of late has been keeping an ever-expanding athletic department functioning on a day-to-day basis. Never underestimate the importance of paperwork.
“You have to keep it moving,” Zahnen said. “You let things stack up on your desk, and people can't get their jobs done. Things have to keep going, and there's a measure of satisfaction when everything is running as it possibly can during the seasons.”
Though not as long as the legendary “Cy” McClairen's tenure, Zahnen's longevity in her career speaks volume. Consider this: Thompson has hired 37 head coaches since 1991. He's had one administrative assistant.
“I'm privileged that I had a good job that I enjoy,” Zahnen said. “Yes, I've seen many coaches come and go over the years, but the coaches now are so far ahead of the coaches we once had. And I've seen a big change in the athletes as well. There's more respect, more maturity. It's a big change and a good change.”
Segueing into retirement is Zahnen's next change. “I'm not used to the reality that I'm going to be able to relax,” Zahnen said. “But now my husband and I plan to travel – maybe even to some Wildcat games and I'm looking forward to that. I'm going to be playing grandma and I'm looking forward to that as well. Think about … I'll still be taking caring care of the kids….”
