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In Josh Flushman's decade at UC Davis, the Aggie alum has worked with three football coaches, helped usher in the school's Division I arrival and was asked to bridge a void between the UCD gridiron and Mrak Hall.

As associate athletics director for performance services, the Berkeley native is responsible for a steamer-trunk full of tasks; so many that for many sports, Flushman could be involved with a program from the minute a student-athlete is first recruited all the way through the preparation and execution of game day tasks and responsibilities in a given sport.

I recently borrowed some of Flushman's valuable time to explore exactly what he does in UC Davis Athletics — and to talk all things Aggie sports.

In addition to his eye-popping assortment of responsibilities, he is a supervisor to numerous programs: baseball, softball, men's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track and field, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's water polo.

"And (Director of Athletics Kevin Blue) and I kind of job-share the supervisor of football," notes Flushman. "The way I describe it, I am the day-to-day supervisor of football — that's not the director of football operations — but I'm the filter of the little things that don't need to go to Kevin: budget decisions, operational questions, what should we take on the next (road game)?"

He says final sign-off on scheduling, coaching hires and building falls with Blue, but often not without give-and-take from Flushman and the rest of the senior staff team.

Flushman also oversees strength-and-conditioning, sports medicine, nutrition and sports psychology within the department.

A lot, to be sure, but there's not one sit-down with Blue or coaches like football's Dan Hawkins, or women's tennis Bill Maze, that goes without a mention of Flushman's contributions — usually with a caveat about his good humor and efficiency.

In working under former AD Greg Warzecka (the man who hired Flushman away from Cal after seven years in the Bay Area) and other bosses Nona Richardson, Terry Tumey and Teresa Gould it was natural progression to ask about his relationship with Blue and how they've teamed up:

"They are all great people, but Kevin came in and found the balance of what we've done in the past, then changed it for the better.

"He and I have had a good relationship. He's OK with me challenging him … he calls it productive dissent. His ego is not challenged when someone suggests 'you're doing it wrong.'

"And when he does that with me, I'm not offended. By and large, we agree on most things."

Flushman says the same goes for rest of the senior staff: "He encourages divergent opinions. Since I've been here, it's the most cohesive senior staff."

The department's senior staff makeup includes Deputy Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca, associate ADs Katherine Zedonis (compliance), Michael Lorenzen (student-athlete outcomes), Maggie Fenton (facilities, operations and capital projects), finance and budget chief Anissa Nachman, Flushman and Blue.

"We challenge each other on how we're going to make this place better," Flushman points out, adding everyone appreciates the regular contact and communication.

So what's new under Blue, Josh?

"New ideas and risk taking. There's information, there's more learned, there's more experiences that have been brought into the thought process.

"And there's more collaboration that's allowed us to move forward.

"It's this evolution of we're going to keep moving forward and build on the success of the past. It's a collaboration of people getting together and all rowing the same way — and the coaches are doing the same thing."

UC Davis hit the trifecta when Kevin Blue was hired as the department's new director of athletics. He, in turn, hired Hawkins before Gary S. May — a man who believes athletics are the front porch of any university — came from Georgia Tech to become the new chancellor.

"We're at a great place right now," Flushman added.

Upon graduation from UC Davis, Flushman went on to earn his masters in sports psychology while working at Cal, eventually serving as director of that school's 24 Olympic sports.

Flushman and his wife Claudia have a 4-year-old son Lucas. The former Aggie baseball recruit (Josh laughs about being a first-round cut by then-coach Phil Swimley) says one of his greatest accomplishments is getting his family to the point that they enjoy what Flushman does almost as much as he does.

So is there a life outside of sports for Flushman?

"If you ask my wife, that's pretty much all it is. Aggie athletics."

"And you know what? There are 25 teams, it's so hard to wrap your head around everything we're doing here," the busy administrator points out. "But you'd be pretty impressed with what each program is doing and where they're headed.

"And we haven't hit our ceiling yet … not in any of these sports."

— Former Davis Enterprise sports editor and managing editor Bruce Gallaudet writes "Inside Aggie Nation" weekly. He also pens "Aggie Corner" on Fridays or Sundays in The Enterprise.

 
 
AGGIE EVO
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation.
 
Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis.
 
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