Panel mum on AD search finalists

The panel put in place to provide three candidates for the vacant athletics director position did so Wednesday, but committee members did not want to tell The Southern Digest who those three persons are.
The decision came after a nearly five-hour meeting as the search committee finished its interviews with three of the six semifinalists at T.T. Allain Hall. Committee members went into executive session to determine the three finalists to submit to Chancellor James Llorens, but did not reveal the identities of the finalists.
In a university release made at the start of the search nearly 80 days ago, Llorens stated the he will not be a part of the search committee’s deliberation and “this will be an open process.” He hopes to have a decision on a full-time athletics director no later than the end of the semester.
“Our charge from the chancellor was to come up with three acceptable names,” said committee chairwoman Doze Butler, who is the interim dean of the College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences. “We have the three names of the people that the committee deemed. Definitely we accomplished what the chancellor asked us to do.”
The athletic director position opened following the April arrest of then-AD Greg LaFleur, a position in which he served for six years. Sandy Pugh, entering her 13^th season as head coach of the women’s basketball coach, was appointed to fill the position as acting AD after LaFleur’s firing.
According to Butler, each applicant must have experience in preparing and managing budgets, knowledge of NCAA Division I rules and regulations, leadership skills, commitment to education, demonstrate fund raising skills, athletic administration experience and knowledge of the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate.
Southern became the first school to face postseason bans in two programs — men’s basketball and football — because of academics.
“I think that the committee did a great job of narrowing those 26 candidates down to six,” said Student Government Association President Demetrius Sumner. “I think that the committee has done an outstanding job of identifying three candidates to submit to the chancellor.”
Butler said Llorens will begin evaluating each finalist once the committee narrows its search.
 ”There must be someone who is committed to APR,” Butler said. “We let some things slip as far as APR is concerned. Of course that was a primary concern for the chancellor and also for the committee. At the end of the day they are student athletes, but again student comes first.”
The APR measures classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team. Teams scoring below 925 in one year can face immediate penalties. Those scoring below 900 or with low scores for several years face tougher sanctions.
“We would like to see them [student-athletes] leave here with a degree,” Butler said. “Of course APR education, those kinds of things are definitely important to the chancellor and also the committee.”