Thursday, Aug. 14, 2003 | 9:53 a.m.
Been there. Done that.
In the end, members of UNLV's 16-person search and screening committee pointed to Mike Hamrick's extensive experience as a Division I athletic director as one of the key reasons he survived the group's evaluation process and was one of five finalists out of approximately 70 applicants eventually forwarded to school President Dr. Carol Harter.
Hamrick, who accepted the UNLV athletic director job on Tuesday night pending approval by the Nevada Board of Regents on Friday, was chosen over Montana's Wayne Hogan and Idaho's Mike Bohn. Two other finalists, Doug Woolard of Saint Louis University and Mike O'Brien of Toledo, quickly withdrew from the process when their names became public.
"He was from the beginning of the discussions very highly ranked and well thought of for his ability," Andy Fry, a UNLV distinguished history professor who chaired the committee, said of Hamrick. "I think he's clearly a seasoned professional who has demonstrated an ability to raise funds and run an athletic department.
"One thing that really impressed me were his values. The programs at ECU were clean. They had great graduation rates (nearly 70 percent for all student-athletes) and they had a great record of student involvement. That whole student dimension -- academics and getting the students involved -- was a big plus for me."
Fry said he also thought Hamrick, who helped lead East Carolina into Conference USA during his eight years in Greenville, N.C., after previously spending five years as athletic director at Arkansas-Little Rock, performed well during his two-day interview.
"I just think he demonstrated a broad knowledge of intercollegiate athletics and also the BCS and its ramifications," Fry said. "East Carolina being in Conference USA is in many ways in a similar position that UNLV and the Mountain West Conference is when it comes to the BCS. He has a strong background and he made a strong impression here with groups he met that reinforced those skills."
"I think he's going to do a great job," Jerry Koloskie, UNLV's senior associate athletic director who was also on the search committee, said. "He comes from a respected conference and he'd done a good job at East Carolina. It's a win-win situation for us."
"I think there has been a lot research and effort that has gone into this to make a good choice," Runnin' Rebels basketball coach Charlie Spoonhour, also a committee member said. "I wish I could tell you I had this all figured out but I didn't.
"(Hamrick) was on my list of five (finalists). I'm very happy with the selection of Mike. But our job as a committee was to take a bigger list and narrow it down to something that Dr. Harter could be comfortable with and we did that. I thought we ended up with three quality candidates. And then she made the final decision."
For those conspiracy theorists who believe the committee was just a smokescreen for Harter to ramrod through her own favorite through, Fry said that simply wasn't the case. Others have wondered if there was a conflict of interest in that Max Urick of the Overland Park, Kan., law firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King, which was paid $30,000 by Harter to help identify and screen potential candidates, was quoted in North Carolina papers championing Hamrick's credentials two weeks ago.
"It really was an open search from the beginning," Fry said. "There were no preconceived favorites as far as I could tell."
Hamrick has had to endure the ire of some ECU supporters over the past year and even had a "FireHamrick" website asking for his ouster following a well-documented feud with football coach Steve Logan. Although he drew praise in a prepared statement from ECU Chancellor William Muse, others weren't quite so complimentary.
"It was a mixed bag, as it probably is with most coaches and athletic directors," Jim Talton, the chairman of ECU's Board of Trustees told the Greenville Daily Reflector. "Some people thought the world of Mike and thought he was doing a good job. I like him personally, and I think he's done a good job professionally."
"I'm happy for him," Pirates basketball coach Bill Herrion said. "But I'm also sad because not only did he give me an opportunity to come here and coach at East Carolina, he's really supported me, and we've also become pretty good friends.
"I think when you look at where East Carolina is at right now, under his watch, you can see what he helped accomplish. I think there is no question that a lot of the positive things have happened during Mike's time here."
Hamrick will be formally introduced at UNLV Monday morning.
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