Candidates Starting To Apply For Bulls' AD Job

[Papa_Bull]

Candidates Starting To Apply For Bulls' AD Job

By BRETT McMURPHY bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: Mar 31, 2004

TAMPA - South Florida's athletic director opening officially won't be posted until Thursday, but the school already has received a couple of intriguing applicants.

Michigan State associate AD Mark Hollis and former Cincinnati Reds General Manager Jim Bowden have applied to replace Lee Roy Selmon.

Chuck Neinas, who has been hired to provide a final list of candidates, met for the first time with USF's search committee Tuesday to review the search scope and timeline.

Search committee chairman Hinks Shimberg instructed Neinas to reduce the field to a manageable number of finalists by mid-May. The search committee will interview the finalists and forward their recommendations to USF President Judy Genshaft, who will make the final decision.

Shimberg said the school would like the new AD ``on board by early to mid-summer.'' Neinas, who visited campus March 15-16, met with more athletic department staff Tuesday.

``This is a great opportunity for someone at a growing university,'' Neinas said.

While Neinas said he has received ``good interest'' from prospective candidates, Hollis, Bowden and Troy State AD Johnny Williams are the only ones to officially apply.

Hollis, who has been at Michigan State since 1995, also was an associate AD at Pittsburgh (1994-95) and a Western Athletic Conference assistant commissioner (1988-93).

Hollis' creativity in producing revenue at MSU resulted in the development of two attendance world records - ``The BasketBowl'' men's basketball contest between MSU and Kentucky in 2003 (78,129 at Ford Field) and ``The Cold War'' hockey game between MSU and Michigan in 2001 (74,554 at Spartan Stadium).

He also proposed a basketball doubleheader (MSU vs. Navy and North Carolina vs. Air Force) to be played on an aircraft carrier stationed in Jacksonville.

``The foundation [at USF] is already built, but there is a tremendous amount of potential,'' said Hollis, a finalist for AD positions at Pittsburgh last May and MSU in January 2002. ``It has a lot to offer. I can see taking USF from a regional level to a national level.''

Other candidates may include athletic directors Richard Giannini (Southern Miss) and Wayne Hogan (formerly of Montana), and associate ADs Richard Konzem (formerly Kansas) Chris May (Colorado), Tom McElroy (Connecticut) and Orange Bowl executive director Keith Tribble.

[bulls96go]

good starting point!

[E.T.]

USF's not rushing the AD search

By PETE YOUNG, Times Staff Writer

Published March 31, 2004

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WANTED: Athletic director for upwardly mobile Division I-A athletic program at a large state school in Tampa, Fla., that is moving into a Bowl Championship Series conference. Send resumes beginning April 1.

In its first meeting Tuesday, South Florida's AD search committee established the parameters: The starting gun goes off Thursday, and a replacement for Lee Roy Selmon is expected sometime in "early to mid summer," likely in June.

"We've established the time frame, scope and game plan," said search committee chairman Hinks Shimberg. "We want to move fast but not too fast."

The interest is expected to be vast. Though official applications cannot be accepted until Thursday, among those who have sent resumes are former Cincinnati Reds general manager Jim Bowden and Michigan State associate AD Mark Hollis.

"Who wouldn't want to apply here?" said committee member Richard Gonzmart, president of Columbia Restaurants.

Step one for the search committee is to forward all recommendations and applications to Chuck Neinas of Neinas Sports Services. Neinas' vast experience in college athletics will provide an additional pool of candidates.

"I have a network of resources," said Neinas, whose Boulder, Colo.-based consulting firm was hired by USF this month and has assisted in AD searches at schools such as Missouri, Cincinnati and Colorado State. "I'm sure I'll know a number of the candidates personally, and I've got a number of people I can call on who will be candid with me because I keep it confidential."

Neinas, the Big Eight commissioner in the 1970s and executive director of the College Football Association in the '80s and '90s, will present a list of candidates by mid to late May. Shimberg estimated anywhere from five to 10 candidates could be brought to Tampa for review, and the search committee will conduct a group interview with each over a few days.

The committee will pare the field to about three or four, from which president Judy Genshaft will choose the person to guide the Bulls into the Big East.

Neinas said among the lures of the job are the location, the athletic department's room to grow, Genshaft's commitment to athletics and the move to the Big East. Among the foremost challenges are upgrading the size of the budget and men's basketball program to Big East standards.

"A good leader comes in many shapes and forms," said Neinas, who helped select football coach Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. "What we are going to try to do is present qualified candidates who not only can handle the job but will fit comfortably into the University of South Florida."

[smazza]

what an important hire

[sdgukhsdgl]

i think the MSU assoc. Ad is the early frontrunner with that kind of track record!

[mattegunz]

Id have to agree with you on that one USFbull83.  I like his attitude of taking us from the regional to national level.  

[dabull80]

Hollis sounds like the marketing kind of guy that so many of us have longed for at USF.  I wonder if JL gets a peek at the incoming AD.  It would be a disaster if those two guys didn't get along.

[FLIPSTYLE]

I still want LRS, but Hollis will do.

as long as lrs is somewhere dealing with usf in some way, is fine by me. he is truly a class act

just to talk and shake his hand is a pleasure. u would never know that he can pack a big hit.

[sdgukhsdgl]

i guarantee you that CJL will have a say... if not a big say... in the AD hiring process.  The admin knows that football is our ticket to success overall as a university.  If football can become succesful the amount of national attention USF would receive is better than any marketking campaign anybody could ever put together for the school

[bullwark]

Jim Bowden is an interesting candidate, I'm Reds fan and thought he did an excellent job for the small market Reds, his downfall was Griffey getting injured all the time.  I just don't think Bowden has the experience in College athletics and the contacts in the collegiate world to be an effective AD for USF.