Editor’s note: This is the second story in a three-part series reviewing ISU Athletic Director Jamie Pollard’s first year at Iowa State.

As his Cyclone family continues to grow, his personal family often pays the price.

That’s a side of Jamie Pollard very few people know. It’s the father, the husband and the friend. Unfortunately for Pollard, the dedication to his job has constantly taken away from his personal life.

His four children, Thomas, 9, Annie, 8, Maggie, 6, and James, 4, don’t see him very often – even when he’s in town. He and his wife, Ellen, have spent the last year raising their family in a rental home until their permanent house is completed in November.

He loves being a father and loves spending time with his children – when he’s home.

“It’s a hard profession, It’s not what people think it is,” Jamie said. “I’m never around, I’m never home, because I have so many commitments. It’s really hard. It takes away from my family, there’s no question about that. I find ways to really value the time I get with my family.”

He’s often quick to shoulder the blame himself.

“Some of it is me,” he said. “I’m a workaholic and I love what I do, but it’s the job.”

While life at work is often a tough experience, life at home, without Jamie, hasn’t been an easy adjustment for the children. Ellen said, at home, she’s noticed a difference in them since the move from Wisconsin. The changes in attitude are subtle, but evident.

“There’s more tears, there’s more fighting amongst themselves, and that’s probably just their frustration coming out,” Ellen said. “They just get upset easier. The littlest things sometimes set them off.”

Still, the job isn’t all detrimental to the family. For starters, the children love coming to games and seeing their father on the field. All four of the children quickly dropped their Badger allegiance to don cardinal and gold – with a little help from mom, who threw away any Wisconsin memorabilia while they were away at school.

They never really noticed. Or maybe they just chose not to.

“They love it,” Jamie said. “They’re true and through cardinal and gold Cyclones. They love coming to the games.”

That’s when he gets to spend the most time with his family. The job isn’t only stressful at home, though. It also takes a toll on his social life.

The privacy of the job, the nature of the beast, detracts from his friendships.

“I have very few friends, outside of who I do business with, and that’s also really hard because it’s hard to have a friendship with anybody because of the job I have,” Jamie said. “There’s no one you can talk to about certain things because you never know when it’s going to come back to haunt you.”

Because of that solitude, Jamie can only turn to a select few. The company who he can feel comfortable around – whom he can trust.

Ellen quickly found herself becoming a good listener – not that she had much of a choice. It may have been tough on her, but she got some help from a very reliable source.

Kathleen Geoffroy, wife of ISU President Gregory Geoffroy, was quick to give Ellen tips on how to help Jamie when he needed it the most.

“She said you have to be a good listener, be there and just be as supportive as you can,” Ellen said. “I do sometimes try to offer an alternative opinion just to help him think things through.”

When he’s not at home, when he can’t go to Ellen, Jamie turns to his colleagues for the tough decisions.

Still, at times, it can be tough for some people to relate, especially since they’ve never shouldered the responsibility Jamie faces.

“You try to be a friend, and try to listen to him, but I’ve never been at that level,” said Steve Malchow, senior associate athletic director. “When you get to that level, it’s hard to have people you trust. Sometimes I just let him talk. It’s interesting, because it’s not part of my job description, and yet it may be the most important thing that I do.”

Those few confidants allow Jamie to focus on his job and to spread the enthusiasm around the department. At the end of the day, with all the new ideas in place, those whom he trusted the most take the most pride in what they see.

“What’s neat for me when I look at Jamie, is that knowing him as long as I’ve known him, we had this dream, and to see someone realize this dream, is pretty neat,” Ellen said. “He was always very confident in his ability. He always believed in himself, and I always believed in him.”

The future of Cyclone athletics rests in the hands of an enthusiastic master planner, and win or lose, Jamie is intent on keeping the pace of even the simplest day-to-day activities at a high level.

He’s been running at such a high level for so long, any other speed may not work for him.

All the goals spelled out, though, the promises to fans and the desire to improve, mean something in the end. That’s the goal behind the man, and that’s the man behind the sports.

Once the Cyclones can be tiered with the top Big 12 programs in the nation, Pollard will exhale – maybe.

“Legacy does matter to me,” he said. “Whenever, however I’m remembered, I want it to be that we made the place better. A lot better.”