UNLV committee will meet today on AD search

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L.E. Baskow

UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy speaks beside UNLV President Len Jessup during the Nevada State Board of Regents meeting to approve possible new UNLV basketball coach Chris Beard on Friday, April 8, 2016.

Thu, Mar 23, 2017 (2 a.m.)

UNLV’s hunt for a new athletics director will heat up on Thursday, when a national search firm is set to meet with the school’s selection committee to present potential candidates for the job.

Collegiate Sports Associates has spent the past two months vetting candidates for UNLV’s soon-to-be-vacant AD position, and CSA President Todd Turner will detail the results of that search today, according to sources. UNLV’s 13-person selection committee will consider Turner’s pitch and then vote to narrow those names down to a handful of final candidates.

The committee will then formally recommend those finalists to university president Len Jessup for the interview stage.

Committee Chairwoman Nancy Rapoport said she expects to have the finalists on campus for in-person interviews by the end of the semester, May 13.

UNLV hired CSA to build out the initial pool of candidates at a cost of $75,000 plus expenses. An ad for the job was posted on Feb. 17, and Rapoport said a wide range of candidates responded.

Current Athletics Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy will be vacating the position on June 30 and moving to a role in fundraising. With the athletic department currently operating at a deficit of more than $4 million, the next AD will have his or her work cut out.

Rapoport said the next athletics director has to be someone with vision.

“The athletics director is responsible for making sure people understand athletics’ value to the community,” she said. “We have to be careful watching the budget situation because we’ve seen other schools go south in similar situations. We expect the next athletics director will have ideas.”

According to sources, the job posting attracted applicants ranging from associate athletic directors at Power 5 schools to multiple sitting ADs from smaller schools, as well as candidates from outside college athletics.

Jessup is not expected to attend the meeting with CSA today, but he will eventually make the final decision, and Rapoport expects him to be involved in the interview process.

“He’s going to consider the recommendations of the committee,” Rapoport said. “He will have heard the pros and cons. He’s not going to sit in on the initial set of sorting [today], but at some point he’s going to want to get to know someone before he gets an offer.

“Ultimately, it’s his call,” Rapoport continued. “Until the committee has a chance to discuss the names, we’re not sure how many will make it to the next cut. The committee will have discussions about their qualifications and winnow the list some, but we’re an advisory committee. He’ll make the call and he knows it’s a big decision.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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