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By ANTONYA ENGLISH
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 20, 2001
TAMPA -- South Florida on Thursday began preliminary steps toward selecting an athletic director, convening a cross-section of faculty, staff and other campus representatives to help in the preselection process.
USF President Judy Genshaft has hired Carr Sports Associates, a sports consulting firm, to help develop a profile by which prospective candidates will be measured. The firm also will supply a list of potential candidates from its job data bank.
At the request of the firm, the group convened Thursday will gather information and documents to help it assess what type of person should replace Paul Griffin, who was forced to resign March 9.
"We have put together a group of people across campus to work with the consultant, and what we're doing now is pulling together this packet of information that we will give to Carr," said Michael Reich, USF intermim director of media relations.
Reich said the committee is scheduled to submit its information to the consulting firm by Monday.
On May 1-3, firm representatives will conduct meetings of groups that will include athletic department staff and coaches, faculty senate members, student government leaders, Title IX and Office of Equal Opportunity Affairs representatives, community leaders and the Latino and African-American advisory committees to get input on what those affiliated with USF want in an athletic director.
Reich said Genshaft plans to ensure that everyone with an interest in the athletic department is given an opportunity to contribute.
The consulting firm is scheduled to conduct a visual presentation to USF administrators between May 10-17, then present its written report no later than June 1.
ASSISTANT ADDED: Jennifer Schneider, whose recruiting efforts helped Stetson's women's basketball team to a school-record 22 wins last season, has joined USF as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, coach Jose Fernandez announced. Schneider, 31, was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Stetson the past three years. The Hatters improved from a 7-20 record in 1998-99 to 22-7 in 2000-01.
STUDENT LEADER: Defensive back Bernard Brown has been named to the NCAA Leadership Seminar and selected to participate in the NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference May 28-June 1 at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista. The senior from Jacksonville was among 300 student-athletes chosen from 1,084 nominees representing 286 NCAA institutions.