By Melissa Crytzer Fry

While many athletes were retiring early before the next day’s competitions during last year’s Summer Olympic Games, alumnus Herman Frazier was staying out late every night — sometimes until 1 or 2 a.m. — and getting only a few hours of sleep.

His infectious enthusiasm for sports drew him to women’s volleyball matches and Dream Team basketball games in the wee hours of the morning. But Frazier’s venue hopping didn’t disrupt his responsibilities as chef de mission of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, which had him ready at dawn and reporting for duty at daily 7:30 a.m. briefings.

“ I didn’t miss one meeting,” says Frazier, a disciplined Olympic gold-medal winner who understands the advantage of being game-ready in any situation. “I was in shape before I went to Athens — mentally and physically.”

As chef de mission, Frazier represented the 538-member U.S. team, the largest delegation among the 201 teams that participated at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. In this role, he wore many hats: spokesperson, supervisor, liaison, disciplinarian and emergency responder. “Being chef de mission is like being the general manager of the U.S. Olympic team,” he explains of the job he calls “a dream come true.”

According to Frazier, his ability to juggle simultaneous responsibilities comes largely from his experiences at ASU. In 1976 as a junior, he balanced class work with intense athletic training, ultimately winning Olympic gold and bronze medals in the 4x400 and 400-meter relays in Montreal. A year later, after earning a bachelor’s degree in political science, Frazier catapulted straight into his first professional position as assistant director of events and facilities for ASU’s athletic department. During his 23-year administrative run, he became a master juggler, handling student athletes, budgets, facilities, building projects and capital campaigns with Olympic skill.

Frazier’s success as a standout student-athlete — an NCAA national track champion in the 400-meter dash and eight-time All-American — provided solid footing for his ASU career, where he was director of athletic facilities, assistant director of operations, associate director of athletics and senior associate athletics director.

An open-door policy is a vital skill for a chef de mission, says LeRoy Walker, Frazier’s ’76 Olympic track coach and president emeritus of the United States Olympic Committee. “Herman is one of the finest athletes I ever coached. He was prepared to accept the appointment, but even better prepared to meet the challenges in dealing with myriad personalities from 201 countries.”

“ I have always had a tolerance to listen,” says Frazier, who admits such a skill is enhanced during an international competition where you have to communicate with individuals from multiple nations. Frazier’s interpersonal skills also were flexed at the daily briefings when he spoke to U.S. athletes about many issues, including the need to set a great Olympic example by winning with pride and using proper flag etiquette.

ASU’s representation in Athens, he says, is cause for pride as well. “ASU has a rich tradition of Olympic athletes, and Dwight Phillips is just a perfect example of that,” says Frazier, referring to the Sun Devil who won a gold medal in the long jump.

“ I’ve become so much a student of the Olympics, myself,” Frazier adds. “The Olympics teach you about competition, respect for people from your country and all over the world. It is the event that brings the world together.”

As Frazier sits behind his desk again, at his full-time job as athletic director at the University of Hawaii, he clearly knows a thing or two about bringing together people of the world. He has served as one of only three vice presidents with the USOC, and his name is synonymous with leadership of the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic games and the Pan American Games in Cuba and Winnipeg.

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Herman Frazier, far left, leads the U.S. team into the Olympic stadium in Athens.

Herman with his fiancee, Caroline.

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