General | 11/2/2015 4:49:00 PM

Standing on the sideline at Allen E. Paulson Stadium, Leonard Bevill gave high fives to the Georgia Southern football players and cheered them on as they ran from the team's tunnel through fireworks and smoke onto the field.

On Thursday, Leonard Bevill, President and CEO of Macon Occupational Medicine, got the opportunity to take on the position of being the athletic director of the Georgia Southern Eagles for an entire day. Along with the current athletic director, Tom Kleinlein, Bevill took on the day to day operations of this position, which on a home game day was certain to be an extremely busy one.

Beginning at 7 a.m., the two started with a workout at the Eagles' football operations center and then went on to meetings. Bevill talked about how interesting it was to be a part of the behind-the-scenes action and was shocked at how much effort and time really goes into the planning and scheduling of games. 

"People were calling with games already scheduled into 2022," Bevill said in disbelief about the process of scheduling games.

After meetings, the two went on to eat lunch with the student-athletes. Meeting with the athletes for lunch is something Kleinlein had set up to do every month in order to catch up with athletes and learn more about what is needed of the staff, what is helpful and what could be improved in order for the athletes to be more successful in their athletic and academic careers. Bevill stated that he really enjoyed this part of his day because it was a great way to communicate with student-athletes and really get to know their ideas and suggestions.

After the meetings and office tasks were done for the day, it was time to get ready for the fun part of the job to begin. Kleinlein and Bevill began their athletic director duties for the night with the Eagle Walk where they joined the Eagles in a walk into the stadium and were greeted by parents and fans. After the Eagle Walk, the two went on to visit with donors and fans in the tailgating area and then made their way to the field. The two welcomed the opposing team's athletic director to Statesboro and Allen E. Paulson Stadium. Kleinlein and Bevill made their way around the field talking with the coaches, staff and players before the game.

Bevill got the opportunity to welcome the Eagles onto the field at the beginning of the game and cheer them on from the sidelines as they ran out at the start of the game. Bevill spent the majority of his time standing on the field cheering the Eagles on and even got to meet the Eagles mascot, Freedom.

At halftime, Bevill and Kleinlein awarded donors and student-athletes for their donations and academic achievements.

Bevill got the Eagles their win against Texas State and helped the Eagles to become bowl eligible, but at the end of the day, Kleinlein had to take back his position and get back to the athletic director grind.