(This is the first of a two-part series with new St. Bonaventure athletic director Joe Manhertz. Today, the effect of the Bonnies’ No. 23 ranking in the Associated Press’ preseason men’s hoops poll).

Joe Manhertz is admittedly spoiled.

After all, he just left Duke University two months ago after serving there 11 years, most recently as associate director of athletics/major gifts, to take the position as St. Bonaventure’s new athletic director.

He exited one of the country’s most prominent basketball schools, which the Associated Press has ranked in its preseason Top 10 for 14 straight years and has appeared in the AP poll sometime every campaign since 1983-84.

But Manhertz walked into SBU’s own version of hoops euphoria when, for the first time in a half century, the Bonnies, at No. 23, cracked the Top 25 just weeks before play begins.

“IF YOU think what the (players) are trying to accomplish this year, the excitement is just infectious throughout campus,” he said. “People have reached out and said ‘It’s the first time in 50 years’ and how excited they are.

“Athletics is one of those things that’s multi-cultural, multi-generational and brings us back. St. Bonaventure basketball has done that in a way that’s been awesome and really meaningful for this university.”

Manhertz admitted, “To have us in (this) light, we’re hunted a little bit and I’m accustomed to that (from Duke). Talking to the (players), you try to let them understand that this is special, but they’ve got to earn everything. I really enjoy this moment, they’ve earned it and now, hopefully, they’ll win.”

And while St. Bonaventure has 19 sports, he understands the impact of its lone revenue offering.

“What basketball has done here, it goes without saying, is that it’s elevated the university and other teams,” Manhertz said. “Students have come up to me at events and say, ‘I’m at St. Bonaventure because of basketball.’

“I think this (ranking) is really going to make sure that we can broadcast and be a part of something special that allows more people to be attracted to this place. Once people get here, they understand the special aspect of it.”

He added, “In talking to alumni and seeing how much they love this place, it’s really going to help us state our case on why we need more resources, more support … not just for basketball, for everyone.

“With the success of basketball, I think people are going to travel throughout the country with us … they’ll be in Charleston, they’ll be in New York and Charlotte.”

HOWEVER, Manhertz is dealing with more immediate issues related to fall sports and travel.

“Right now we’re thinking about getting people and teams to competition,” he said. “It’s been difficult with bus drivers due to Covid and being vaccinated. It’s been difficult for our teams to get (to road games). For example, the soccer team had to fly to Rhode Island because we couldn’t get a bus. Bus companies are short on drivers, so that expense has gone up for us a little bit.”

MEANWHILE, he’s enjoying the hoops electricity that prevails on the SBU campus.

“I think there’s passion in both places … it’s scale. What Duke has access to is a completely different level, different scale than what we have access to here,” Manhertz said. “I loved my experience at Duke, it was great and I have a lot of friends back there. But being here and part of this and the passion the alumni and folks around campus have for St. Bonaventure, it’s second to none … on par with Duke and other places I’ve been (Ohio State and Syracuse).”

He allowed, “For me, it’s how can I help elevate that (enthusiasm) and grow that, so it doesn’t just trickle down to (men’s) basketball but women’s basketball and other programs.

“That’s really the fun part of this because this is lightning in a bottle … how big is our bottle so we can catch this and keep it. To coach (Mark) Schmidt’s credit, he’s built this thing brick-by-brick. He’s in a position where we’ve had some success and now let’s go out and play and earn it. Talking to the team and understanding what they’re trying to accomplish, when I watch practice I like what I see.

“This is preseason, we start here, but we don’t finish here … this is great (now) let’s put it in a bottle and go earn everything else. One injury could derail everything, Covid could derail everything so let’s capture this and enjoy it but let’s make sure we dot our i’s and cross our t’s and continue to earn it and really have fun doing it.”

Manhertz concluded, “That’s the culture of it. Five months from now they’ll never all be together again … so really enjoy being with each other, playing with each other … that’s the part of it that you really don’t think about when you’re that age.”

(TOMORROW: Manhertz talks about fund-raising and its importance to St. Bonaventure athletics)

(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)