UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

The University of Minnesota’s marathon process of finding a new athletic director apparently is close to entering the next phase. Don’t worry, folks. They’re almost halfway done. The outside search firm Turnkey has conducted a series of phone and in-person interviews the past few weeks and will submit a list of candidates for formal interviews with university President Eric Kaler. The actual number on Kaler’s hand-picked committee is 16, but it might as well be 900 because the size of that group served as a stop sign for some potential candidates. How many? I don’t know, but people privately have shared their concerns. I had a conversation last week with a current AD at a Division I school who had mild interest in the job. His credentials would have made him an attractive candidate. But he admitted the potential of interviewing with 16 people under the premise of confidentiality was a deterrent. In revealing his internal committee in late March, Kaler said: “Absolutely, yes, the full committee will winnow this list down. So unlike last time, where we had the smaller group that did the interviews, all 16 of these people will be involved in the interview process.” -Chip Scoggins, Start Tribune, Read More