Rutgers narrows athletic-director search to three top finalists

[zff]

Source Rutgers narrows athletic-director search to three top finalistsBy KEITH SARGEANTStaff Writer The university is expected to appoint its next athletics director from a trio of finalists that includes CBS Sports executive Tim Pernetti, University of North Carolina-Wilmington athletics director Kelly Mehrtens, and University of Akron athletics director Mack Rhoades, a number of people familiar with the search process told Gannett New Jersey newspapers Sunday.After nearly two months of interviews conducted with more than a dozen candidates, university officials will invite the finalists on campus Tuesday for formal interviews with the school's three principle coaches, multiple sources said.On Monday, the university's budget and finance committee is expected to finalize the compensation package which will be offered to the appointed athletics director.On Tuesday, the finalists are expected to be on campus, meeting individually with Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano, men's basketball coach Fred Hill and women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer in a series of 30-minute interviews.The 14-person search committee will meet for the second and final time on Wednesday to discuss the merits of each candidate.Philip Furmanski, who heads the search committee, could nominate an athletics director for the board of governor's approval before its meeting on Thursday, multiple people familiar with the search said.Rutgers' governing board, which has the final say on personnel matters, is convening at the Paul Robeson Campus Center in Newark.The people familiar with the search requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the interview process. Furmanski, nor any Rutgers officials tied to the search, including president Richard L. McCormick, will comment on any candidates until the final stage of the search.Of the three finalists, Pernetti is the only candidate with Rutgers ties, having played football in the early 1990s and serving as the color commentator for the Rutgers Football Radio Network for the past eight years.Pernetti also serves as Executive Vice President at CBS Sports Network. Pernetti, who earned both his bachelor's degree and master's degree from Rutgers, played one year of high school ball for Schiano at Ramapo and remains close with the Scarlet Knights football coach.Mehrtens, 45, became athletics director at UNC-Wilmington in July 2007 after serving as Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Women's Administrator at Kansas for nearly four years. Mehrtens also worked in the athletics administrations at Illinois, Northeastern and Miami.UNC-Wilmington, which does not have a football team, is a Colonial Athletic Association program featuring 19 varsity sports. Mehrtens, 45, earned a bachelor's degree in 1986 at Alabama, where she earned All-America honors as a discus thrower, and completed her master's degree at Illinois in 1991.Rhoades, 43, is in his fourth year as athletics director at Akron, a Mid-American Conference school with 15 sports. The Akron football program is in the final stages of construction of a $54 million on-campus stadium, which is slated to open this September.Rhoades, a 1993 University of Arizona graduate, also has experience in the athletics departments at Yale, Marquette and UTEP, where he worked in fundraising, marketing, licensing, media relations, budgeting, and facilities upgrades.The Rutgers athletics department is currently being directed by Carl Kirschner, chairman of the university's academic oversight committee for intercollegiate athletics, who took over as interim athletics director on Jan. 1 after Bob Mulcahy was fired in December. Kirschner said he did not wish to be a candidate when he was appointed interim AD on Jan. 1.Of the finalists, Pernetti appears to be the clear favorite to succeed Mulcahy due to his Rutgers ties. Despite his lack of AD experience … university officials have said that is preferred, but not a prerequisite … those close to Pernetti say he's a rising star who has the charm and charisma to represent Rutgers in the best public light.“Obviously someone with experience at a program, who's ready to move on and take another challenge is one part of the package,” Furmanski said last month, defining what the university is seeking in its next AD. “You also don't want to eliminate what I'd call a diamond in the rough.”Pernetti, who also was a candidate for the Big East commissioner job last fall, may just be that “diamond in the rough.”Still, one member of the search committee, who requested anonymity, said being so close to Schiano will raise questions.“My whole goal since this process started was to see that all Rutgers sports are represented, not just football,” the committee person said. “By hiring Pernetti, you might as well hire Greg Schiano. That's why we're in this mess in the first place. I liked Bob (Mulcahy), but he could never say no to Greg.”How much influence the search committee will have on choosing the athletics director is unknown. Those familiar with how the search has been conducted for the past two months say McCormick, Furmanski and Bruce Fehn, treasurer on the board of governors, have conducted the interviews while the search committee has been kept out of the inner circle.“Really, we haven't heard about any specific candidates who've interviewed,” one search committee person said. “What does that tell you?”Parker Executive Search was hired in January, at a fee of $58,000 plus expenses, to assist university officials with compiling a list and gauging the interest of outside candidates.Big East Associate Commissioner for Football Nick Carparelli, Buffalo AD Warde Manuel, Army AD Kevin Anderson, Long Beach State AD Vic Cegles, Indiana AD Rick Greenspan and Stony Brook AD Jim Fiore were among the candidates interviewed in the first phase of the search, Gannett New Jersey learned.No one working in Rutgers' current athletics administration, including Deputy AD Kevin MacConnell, was formally interviewed.Keith Sargeant: ksargeant@MyCentralJersey.com

[ZachTheZip]

Going over their message boards, not a single one of them wants Mack. It was the same way with Cinci but look how that turned out.

[Zips Win!]

Good luck to Mack.If it's not Rutgers, in time it will be someone else. UA is and will always be a revolving door when it comes to AD's (coaches too) using UA as a stepping stone.Until we get a UA guy in the hot seat who wants to stay for the long haul, this cycle will continue. That said, KD is not the answer. He needs to coach, period.

[ZachTheZip]

Plain Dealer article on Mack being named a finalist.There's really nothing we can do but wait and see. I trust Dr. Proenza to make a good hire if it comes to that.I found it interesting that they mentioned "plans for basketball arena improvements to begin in the spring" in his accomplishments along with the football stadium and fieldhouse/Rec.

[skip-zip]

Hmmm...basketball arena improvements. I hope it involves taking at least one side of the arena, eliminating the track, and running continuous rows of seats the entire way up. KD mentioned something similar to this in a postgame interview once. I think it's a great idea.However, if the changes are just some cosmetics, I'd rather see us just continue to play with what we have, and save the money for a new arena someday. In regards to Mack, lets face the truth. MAC schools will always have just as much trouble keeping good administrators as good coaches. It's the nature of our situation. Lets just hope, as someone mentioned, that we can continue to bring in the type of people that we've had here recently.

[zip37]

Regardless of how competent Dr. Proenza is, eventually with the revolving door policy willbite us in the butt and a Dave Adams, Mike Bobinski, Gordon Larson will come in and botch thejob. Although to their dcredit Bobinski and Thomas figured our AFTER they left U of A, how to hirea good basketball and football coach. But for us it was too late. Hipsher was Bobinski's hireand Brookhart to Thomas.We need to hire someone that will come in for the long haul and grow their salary along withthe success of the teams. It can be done.

[HOLLYWOODZIPPY]

Well if there is a silver lining in all of this I guess it's that Rutgers approached him about the postion. That really says a lot about where the athletics department is and the direction it's heading. But I'm hoping he doesn't leave.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Well if there is a silver lining in all of this I guess it's that Rutgers approached him about the postion. That really says a lot about where the athletics department is and the direction it's heading. But I'm hoping he doesn't leave.

Parker Executive Search was hired in January, at a fee of $58,000 plus expenses, to assist university officials with compiling a list and gauging the interest of outside candidates.

Seems like a search committee contacted Mack. And it also appears his resume' was already up-to-date when he got the phone call.Mike Thomas was interviewed at Pitt before taking the Cincinnati job. If Mack doesn't leave now, he will soon.It's funny...you hear the Akron AD say "We're thinking bigger than the MAC...we're thinking beyond the MAC..." But in reality it should read: "I'm thinking bigger than the MAC...I'm thinking beyond the MAC..."Mack is a nice person. I wish him well. But when the stadium opens in 2009, I want an Akron AD with a plan to fill those seats. Not one itching to vacate his.If I'm Luis Proenza I write my $58,000 check today and begin my search for a new AD. Mack is gone. Take it to the bank. If not to Rutgers, then to somewhere else.

[skip-zip]

Zip37...I agree with you. Having a revolving door of ADs can sometimes make you prone to a mistake. Although, the very hopeful scenario of having a guy who loves Akron, wants to live in Akron, has all of the tools to make us successful, and won't leave, is like catching lightning in a bottle. That may end up being the case with KD. And if it is, what are the odds of such an incredibly unique situation happening again?Remember, in many cases we're not up against someone offering our people a little increase in salary. There's dozens of other schools out there with the resources to increase someone's salary by hundreds of thousands of dollars (and sometimes millions). And I'd say it would be pretty rare for someone to not at least allow themselves to be courted by such opportunities.

[zip37]

Zip37...I agree with you. Having a revolving door of ADs can sometimes make you prone to a mistake. Although, the very hopeful scenario of having a guy who loves Akron, wants to live in Akron, has all of the tools to make us successful, and won't leave, is like catching lightning in a bottle. That may end up being the case with KD. And if it is, what are the odds of such an incredibly unique situation happening again?Remember, in many cases we're not up against someone offering our people a little increase in salary. There's dozens of other schools out there with the resources to increase someone's salary by hundreds of thousands of dollars (and sometimes millions). And I'd say it would be pretty rare for someone to not at least allow themselves to be courted by such opportunities.

Skip- Mike Wadell told me before he left, after being passed over, that if he got it he would stay permanetly [he liked the school/area/people].Some out there doubted Mike's ability, but I didn't, so there is at least one out there, if he is stillinterested.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Regardless of how competent Dr. Proenza is, eventually with the revolving door policy willbite us in the butt and a Dave Adams, Mike Bobinski, Gordon Larson will come in and botch thejob. Although to their dcredit Bobinski and Thomas figured our AFTER they left U of A, how to hirea good basketball and football coach. But for us it was too late. Hipsher was Bobinski's hireand Brookhart to Thomas.We need to hire someone that will come in for the long haul and grow their salary along withthe success of the teams. It can be done.

Bobinski hired Hipsher, but he's not the guy that let Hipsher hang around for 9 years. Hipsher was a mediocre HC with anger management issues. But he was far from Coleman Crawford.As far as Bobinski getting it right at Xavier...it is amazing how easy it is to find a great coach when you walk into a Top 25 program. As far as the final chapter on Brookhart being written - I disagree. He's won a championship. He's recovered from his early-career recruiting mistakes. He'll be the odds-on favorite to win the MAC East in 2009. It could be a lot worse.

[ZachTheZip]

I would like to see Mack at least stick around to see his work come to fruition.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I would like to see Mack at least stick around to see his work come to fruition.

The choice is/was his.

[zip37]

Cap't Roo-- you are obviously satisfied with a .500 record-- i'm not I'm barely satisfied with .70o. Brookhart won MAC w/ LO's leftovers witha few of his own, not that impressive in my book. Odds on favorathe and delivering are two diffweent things.

[zipboy]

Good luck to the guy but my 2 issues are 1. 3 years, how can you say you actually accomplished something. I am tired of seeing people like Mack have on their resume, they built the stadium, they generated donations, they generated ticket sales. I am the shmuck doling out the money because I love Akron not because I love Mack Rhodes.2. No probelm with a guy leaving but don't say "I love it here. I will be here as long as they will have me." When the Zips were robbed 2 years ago and KD said maybe I won't be here forever. I just can't take the slights. If he had left then, I would not have blamed him. He at least said don't count on me. In year 2 of JD's regime, Elton asked him toward the end of the year about him taking a bigger job. His response was to the effect, Great things are going on here, I am focused on the season, no other comments. And if JD goes 11-3 this year and takes off, he never once said he plans to be here forever. I can live with that. And what will drive me crazy if Mack does not get it is post interview comments in the paper. "I love it here. They sought me out. I have no desire to leave. My family and I love the Akron area and the Akron community. It would take a special job, a once in a lifetime job for me to leave. I am anxiously looking forward to opening up InfoCision Stadium." Blah, blah, blah.Again, I don't expect people to stay here forever, but at least don't be blowing smoke up my rear.

[zipsbandman]

Don't let the door hit ya on the butt on the way out Mack. Proenza, Curtis, and co made the stadium happen....not Mack. Has attendance really increased? Could have fooled me there (4200 at the Akron Can't bball game...pathetic), and he has not had to hire a basketball or football coach so he is unproven in that area. And lets not forget the soccer fiasco. So he's replaceable. Proenza is not. I do think that Mike Waddell would be a great pick. He would bring in a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the job but he just got hired at a directional Missouri school.

[infofan]

Don't let the door hit ya on the butt on the way out Mack. Proenza, Curtis, and co made the stadium happen....not Mack. Has attendance really increased? Could have fooled me there (4200 at the Akron Can't bball game...wow), and he has not had to hire a basketball or football coach so he is unproven in that area. So he's replaceable. Proenza is not. I do think that Mike Waddell would be a great pick. He would bring in a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the job but he just got hired at a directional Missouri school.

A few points to clarify.... My guess is Mack will not get the RU job. Sounds like Rutgers's grad Pernetti is the favorite. But no disputing that once your name is out there expressing interest in moving on theres no turning back. This is confirmed by Mack's not returning phone calls.As for Mike Waddell, I liked the guy and wish hed be a short list applicant but he told a mutual friend today hell NEVER be back. He did not get that Missouri job. Hes still at UC. And while he has good feelings about the area and UA he believes that under Mack Rhodes the situation has collapsed. No foundation, no fan development. All the momentum we had at Motor city bowl was lost. When Pruenza leaves ( within 3 or 4 yrs)the "shirts" may hit the fan budget wise. Thats why Mack is leaving. I dont know if I agree- I think Mack has done a good job. (Not great) Stadium was already a development in progress and JD and KD already here. Have we grown as a program while Mack has been here??

[ZachTheZip]

I happen to agree with Waddell, but only partly. Mack came here in 2005-2006, which we can say the best year overall in Zips sports history. Football won the MAC, Basketball went to the NIT and won a post-season game for the first time in twenty years, and soccer was #1 for most of the season before getting screwed in the NCAA seeding (our first indication of what was to come), which prompted our coach to bolt. What happened since then? 2006-2007 saw the football team take a step back, which is understandable since the MAC is incredibly unpredictable in football. Basketball had its most painful moment in history, and we all sat watching helplessly. No fault of our own there. Soccer would be hard-pressed to repeat the previous season, but they weren't exactly bad.2007-2008 is where things should have picked back up. Instead, football goes 4-8, basketball doesn't win the MAC but does beat FSU in the NIT, and soccer wins the MAC as usual, but gets home-field stripped thanks to some idiot calling the NCAA a full week before the game was to be played saying our field was muddy.We're just now picking up where 2005 left off. Fan growth stagnated, and the magic wore off. If there would ever be a time to regain that magic, it would be next year. New football stadium, Zeke + JAR renovations, #1 soccer recruiting class. Waddell would be stepping into an ideal situation, and it's too bad he can't see that.

[zippyrifle32]

2. No probelm with a guy leaving but don't say "I love it here. I will be here as long as they will have me." ...And what will drive me crazy if Mack does not get it is post interview comments in the paper. "I love it here. They sought me out. I have no desire to leave. My family and I love the Akron area and the Akron community. It would take a special job, a once in a lifetime job for me to leave. I am anxiously looking forward to opening up InfoCision Stadium." Blah, blah, blah.Again, I don't expect people to stay here forever, but at least don't be blowing smoke up my rear.

this is what I find most upsetting. It makes me feel like a fool to have believed him. Then again, why would I do otherwise. I don't know, I still need to process this situation...

[ZachTheZip]

2. No probelm with a guy leaving but don't say "I love it here. I will be here as long as they will have me." ...And what will drive me crazy if Mack does not get it is post interview comments in the paper. "I love it here. They sought me out. I have no desire to leave. My family and I love the Akron area and the Akron community. It would take a special job, a once in a lifetime job for me to leave. I am anxiously looking forward to opening up InfoCision Stadium." Blah, blah, blah.Again, I don't expect people to stay here forever, but at least don't be blowing smoke up my rear.

this is what I find most upsetting. It makes me feel like a fool to have believed him. Then again, why would I do otherwise. I don't know, I still need to process this situation...

Mack is using Akron to get to his dream job. I don't want people who view us like that, because that means they view us as being "too small" or "not enough" and "not worth sticking around" and it will eventually be reflected in their work. I want a person who sees Akron for what it is and what it is capable of being, and wants to be the one to guide us through that transformation. We need an AD and coaches who share Proenza's vision.

[ksu sucks]

When Pruenza leaves ( within 3 or 4 yrs)the "shirts" may hit the fan budget wise. Thats why Mack is leaving. I dont know if I agree- I think Mack has done a good job. (Not great) Stadium was already a development in progress and JD and KD already here.

I must be misinterpreting this? Why would Proenza leave in 3-4 years?

[bandzip]

When Pruenza leaves ( within 3 or 4 yrs)the "shirts" may hit the fan budget wise. Thats why Mack is leaving. I dont know if I agree- I think Mack has done a good job. (Not great) Stadium was already a development in progress and JD and KD already here.

I must be misinterpreting this? Why would Proenza leave in 3-4 years?

I think he means 3-4 years after Proenza leaves everything would turn to crap, not that Proenza is leaving in 3-4 years.

[72 Roo]

Random thoughts:1) Mac is gone. I agree with Capt'n, if not now he will go soon. He's got to go because he has tipped his hand that he is willing to leave for a mid-level Big East job. Not exactly the Big 10, SEC or Big 12.2) Our transformation, which is continuing as we speak, will be a long hard road. But it will happen. I see us dominating the MAC and looking to the next level in the years ahead. I'm willing to admit it may be many years ahead. But it will happen.3) Proenza will only leave for the right job. He was up for the Florida job , but didn't get it. He also applied for the University of California regents job that OSU's Gordon Gee was offered years ago, but Luis didn't make the short list. He is being selective on what he wants. He knows he has one job left in him and he wants it to be a statement position or he will continue to stay at Akron. I can live with that. There is still more for him to do here altho' he is still disappointed he couldn't orchestrate a medical school for Akron. A long shot at best, but he thought he was strong enough to pull it off. 4) Zip37 ... I'll disagree with you about Gordon Larsen. Even respectfully argue if you want. Gordon inherited an athletic dept that was in a shambles from the Red Cochrane era. Red was a promoter, but never a manager. Gordon started putting the program on the proper footing. He instituted title IX at Akron, he coached, he hired Bill Killen to replace Stu Parry, he hired Wyatt Webb and he got us into the Mid Continent conference. All on the smallest budget the school had seen to date. As a football coach he out-coached Don James (K.E.N.T.) and Earle Bruce (Tampa) with fewer scholarships. At first I didn't like him. After getting to know him I found he was Akron through and through. He was a man to be admired and a fierce competitor. I hope some of this changes your mind about him. he did many important things behind the scenes that few people gave him credit for.5) I like our position now better than ever. Our coaches are sound. Our facilities are rapidly improving. We have a core of passionate fans that will keep the focus on continuous qulaity improvement. We have a great president and a board of trustees that share his vision. We will survive and flourish. As I said above, it will happen.

[UAZipster0305]

Random thoughts:3) There is still more for him to do here altho' he is still disappointed he couldn't orchestrate a medical school for Akron. A long shot at best, but he thought he was strong enough to pull it off.

72 Roo, how do you know this. Please provide more detail.

[Zip Watcher]

5) I like our position now better than ever. Our coaches are sound. Our facilities are rapidly improving. We have a core of passionate fans that will keep the focus on continuous qulaity improvement. We have a great president and a board of trustees that share his vision. We will survive and flourish. As I said above, it will happen.

Nice point & good post.I have to say that I'll *never* understand the negative spin that seems to surround Mack here at the Nation. I think most of us would agree with 72's point 5 above. Mack has been a key player in that the past few years. I'm not saying the ONLY player .. but a key player.I'm CERTAIN that if you examine the Academic and Financial state of the Athletic Department now, and when he arrived, you'll find that both conditions are better now than before. Isn't all we can ask of Mack that he improve and / or at least maintain the level of the Athletic Department? Is there really any evidence that hasn't happened (or continued to happen) under his watch?I figure if it comes about that he takes another job, which we ALL do from time to time .. and he leaves the Zips in a better place than he found it in ... we should say thanks & good luck.On another note .. in a hazy cloud of blind optimism regarding one day jumping to the FBS side of a divided Big East .. wouldn't it help the Zips to have 2 of the 8 league members being run by former Zips ADs?Go Zips!