UH chooses Finalists for the post of athletics director at the University of Hawaii have been chosen, and at least some of them will be interviewed this weekend on the mainland.
finalists for
AD opening
Tomey is believed to be among
those still in the running
to replace YoshidaBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comDavid McClain, chairman of UH's selection advisory committee, also said the committee members voted individually for finalists at their meeting on Saturday. The ballots were then turned over to UH-Manoa acting chancellor Deane Neubauer.
McClain is among "about half a dozen" committee members who will be involved in the personal interviews.
"But I don't know who will be interviewed at this point, and I don't know how many finalists (Neubauer) decided to pick," McClain said yesterday afternoon.
Neubauer was unavailable for comment yesterday.
The selection committee isn't releasing the names of candidates -- some of whom applied and some of whom were nominated.
But former UH and Arizona football coach Dick Tomey has been considered a strong candidate since current athletics director Hugh Yoshida said in February that he is retiring.
Tomey declined comment yesterday, but is believed to be among the finalists.
Meanwhile, two potential candidates say they are not in the mix.
UC Riverside athletics director Stan Morrison, who was nominated by UH men's volleyball coach Mike Wilton, and UCLA associate athletics director Betsy Stephenson both said they decided not to apply.
"It would not be appropriate for me at this time," Morrison said. "I was not directly contacted, and it's a lot different when you're approached."
UH president Evan Dobelle inquired about Stephenson last month, and Stephenson said she was interested at first.
"I ended up not applying," Stephenson said. "The reasons don't have to do with Hawaii's athletic program."
Stephenson said yesterday she does not want to move farther from her parents who live in the Midwest.
Two known applicants, television executive Rick Blangiardi and UH associate athletics director Jim Donovan, both said they had not been contacted as of yesterday afternoon regarding their status.
Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson has not applied for the post, but is believed to be interested in it.
"All I can tell you is I will be in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday watching Rice play in the College World Series," Benson said yesterday.
"I've had no contact with the university or any representative of the university."
Former UH administrator Rockne Freitas, Wyoming athletics director Lee Moon and UC Santa Barbara athletics director Gary Cunningham are also possibly among the finalists.
Former UH football coach and current Texas-El Paso assistant Bob Wagner indicated he was interested in the job two months ago, but said last week he might not apply.
McClain did not specify where on the mainland the interviews would take place. But they could be in Dallas, since the search firm UH has hired is based there and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics is holding meetings there.
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