John Decker has already retired once.
He figures practice makes perfect.
Decker, a 1967 Arthur Hill graduate and member of the 1970 Nebraska football national championship team, announced his retirement as the athletic director at Saginaw Valley State University. Angela Pohl will serve as the interim athletic director.
“I retired once from my law career, but then came SVSU,” Decker said. “There were some things I wanted to see through, things I had on a checklist relating to a lot of different things. At SVSU, I wanted to upgrade our programs, facilities, our support for athletics … it’s coming around.”
Decker earned seven varsity letters at Arthur Hill in football, basketball and track before joining the Nebraska football team, which won a national title in 1970. He earned his law degree from Duke in 1976 and joined the law firm of Braun Kendrick, serving 12 years as the managing partner.
After retiring from Braun Kendrick, Decker joined SVSU as an associate vice president and general counsel in 2014, taking the job as athletic director in 2018.
“The timing of it is just right,” Decker said. “My wife (Sally) is a nursing professor here, and she’s retiring at the end of the month. It dovetails with what my original plan was when I agreed to take the job. It’s been an interesting and fun ride.”
Sometimes, it’s been more interesting than fun.
Decker took the AD job in the middle of an NCAA investigation for eligibility and compliance infractions. The penalty after the investigation included a fine and four years of probation. The Cardinals were also forced to vacate wins in 15 different sports between the 2013-14 and 2017-18 seasons.
“Actually, the most challenging part of the job was just getting through the pandemic, being able to come out of the worst part of it with our programs in good shape and ready to hit the ground running,” Decker said. “We’ve had several very successful teams over the past couple of years with some very gratifying results in terms of an overall athletic program.”
SVSU finished second in the President’s Cup, giving to the top overall athletic program in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Cardinals also finished 23rd in the nation in the Learfield Cup, given to the top overall athletic program in NCAA Division II.
Decker hired nine new head coaches at SVSU and added a 20th sport, women’s lacrosse. Upgrades to SVSU facilities during Decker’s tenure included a new video scoreboard at Wickes Stadium, the addition of artificial turf to the soccer/lacrosse field, the replacement of the football field turf, resurfacing of the outdoor tennis courts and replacing the flooring in the basketball and volleyball arenas.
“I’m way, way past when most people retire,” Decker said. “The lure of being able to get back into college athletics was strong, and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. I’m ready.”
Decker will spend his post-SVSU career traveling to Europe, including a golf trip to Scotland and a trip to Ireland to watch Nebraska play Illinois.
“I’ve always enjoyed travel and exploring new places, so I’m going to hit the ground running,” Decker said. “We love Ireland. We love the people, the culture, the history. Everything about it is exciting. We love to explore.”
“I’ve been thinking about this for some time,” Decker said. “I’m not getting any younger. We’re leaving to go to Ireland for a week. And that’s just the start.”