Once I got back to St. Louis, ahead of the snow, I spent much of Thursday talking to people who have worked with Chris May, and there was a recurring theme: He’s a great guy, you’ll love him.

These things aren’t totally scientific, but people who worked with him at Colorado, plus ADs who worked with him at other Big 12 schools, not to mention his college track coach, all say very good things about him. (You can read some of them in Friday’s Post-Dispatch.) Rick Majerus called him “visionary.”

Bill Hempen, the women’s soccer coach at Colorado (and a Dubourg grad) credits May with helping get his team moved back on campus, a significant step for the program. Colorado’s facility is now good enough that it hosted NCAA regional games this year. “He did a good job with us,” Hempen said. “He was our liaison with the administration and he fought the good fight for the Olympic sports. He did a great job.” (I predict that in less than two months after starting the job, he’ll have the athletic department moved out of West Pine Gym. You heard it here first!)

May’s soon-to-be-former boss, Mike Bohn, said so many things so quickly about May it was hard to keep up. “Any time you have the ability to stay within an organization through three different athletic directors, and an interim one, that’s something. He has an incredible work ethic and will do what it takes to get it done. … He has an innate ability to build long-term relationships with people. That’s important for any business. He’s an incredibly solid individual.”

By the way, for the track oriented out there, May finished sixth in the 800 meters at the 1985 Big Eight finals. His best time was 1:53.4. (He also ran the 880 in 1:56.03, for those still attached to yards.) Said a person at the Iowa State sports information department, somewhat embarrassed by not being able to give me more data: “That’s all I could find. He wasn’t one of our more prominent runners.” But he did win the state 800 title when a senior in high school. I’m told he still jogs.

“He’s a pretty straight shooter,” said Mario Moccia, the AD at SIUC. “I don’t think he’ll hide in his office.”