Jimmy Bass’ designated seat at the scorer’s table is always vacant during basketball games. It’s not that he doesn’t venture into Trask Coliseum to cheer on the UNCW teams, though.

The grey-haired, well-dressed man shuffling around the lower level shaking dozens of fans’ hands is the newest UNCW athletic director. When all the attention is on the court, Bass likes to meet the fans and fundraise for the 19 Division 1 athletic programs he’s in charge of supporting.

During his introductory press conference on Oct. 19, 2010, Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo said, “He was UNCW’s first-ever full-time athletics fundraiser, who as the founding executive director of the Seahawk Club increased membership from 250 to 1,100 in just three years.”

Continuing that success as athletic director will require a lot of work, and to Bass, no time to take a leisurely seat during basketball games.

So how many opportunities does he get to relax and put aside managing UNCW athletics? “There are none,” Bass said with a smirk. Then, he quickly exchanged the smile for a straight face. “I mean seriously. I can’t turn it off and that’s OK.”

The “it” is something that Bass couldn’t quite explain. “I think it’s passion,” he said. “It’s something you can’t buy, somebody can’t provide for you. The fire has gotta burn.”

Bass was exposed to competitive North Carolina high school football while growing up in Dunn. Perhaps his passion burns from his playing days as a defensive back in the Shrine Bowl, which annually pits the elite players from North Carolina against South Carolina’s best.

Bass not surprisingly used a football pun to describe his work ethic. “If you tackle it with a passion, you’re good,” he said.

Bass has stayed in North Carolina for the majority of his life. After graduating from NC State in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication, he earned his master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University two years later. From 1979 to 1981, Bass served as assistant director of the Wildcat Club and ticket manager at Davidson College.

Next, he returned to NC State as an assistant director on the Wolfpack Club from 1981-86. Afterwards, he got his first taste of the Port City as the executive director of the Seahawk Club in 1986. After three years in the nest, Bass moved to East Carolina University to become the assistant athletic director for marketing until 1994.

Briefly, he took his marketing talents to the University of Pittsburgh for an 11-month period after leaving Greenville. Then, he returned to Raleigh. This time, Bass would stay longer as the university’s associate vice chancellor for alumni relations and executive director of the alumni association until April 2000. But, he eyed a return to athletics, and was reassigned as the associate executive director of the Wolfpack Club for the next five years.

The traveling didn’t stop at his alma mater, though. Bass moved to Mississippi State to serve as senior associate director of athletics for the following six months. However, Greenville beckoned again and he returned for his most recent position as senior associate athletic director for external operations prior to becoming UNCW’s sixth athletic director.

With so many frequent flier miles, there is a concern that the 53-year-old will not consider Wilmington to be his long-term home.

“I came here with a four year contract,” Bass said of his $220,000 annual salary. “I want to be here. I don’t have a target year to retire. I’m not looking to go anywhere else.

I may retire here one day, but I didn’t come here to work at UNCW to retire. I came here to work to bring this program back to national prominence.”

When he does leave, whether for retirement or for another professional opportunity, Bass wants to be remembered fondly at UNCW.

“That I cared about the institution, and that I really do care about the community,” he said. “I know we work hard every day to make this university a better place.”