List of Possible AD Candidates Comes to Light

by Dan Scott - Correspondent - Sat Apr 27 01:35:03 GMT-04:00 2002

Wrapping up a couple of days of radio talk:

The list of possible candidates for the soon-to-be vacant AD job at Clemson - presented here much to the chagrin of Vice President of Advancement Neil Cameron, I'm sure - has some very intriguing possibilities.

Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity provided many of the names which follow, as Clemson continues to search for Bobby Robinson's replacement. Robinson's retirement takes effect June 30.

In case you missed the Wednesday show, and the Friday update, here are the names being bandied about:

External Candidates

Jeff Long - Oklahoma

Eric Hyman - Texas Christian

John Shafer - Mississippi

Tom Mickel - Citrus Bowl

Mike Hamilton - Tennessee

Mike Alden - Missouri

Mitch Barnhart - Oregon State

Lew Perkins - UConn

Steve Sloan - Chattanooga

Danny Morrison - Southern Conference Commissioner

Butch Worley - Texas

John Wilken - former Bi-Lo president

Clint Bryant - August College

Internal Candidates

Bill D'Andrea - Football/Men's Basketball Operations

Tim Match - Associate AD

Of the external candidates, Hamilton has received the most press in this area in recent weeks. The Clemson grad is an associate athletic director at Tennessee and is well known for his fundraising capabilities.

Another intriguing possibility is Wilken, who obviously would approach the job from a business standpoint. In that scenario, one would think he would need one or more strong, solid associate ADs to handle the athletic personnel end of the job (recommendations for hiring and firing, etc.).

Steve Sloan, meanwhile, won't even begin his duties at Chattanooga until July 1, according to a spokesperson in the Mocs' office.

Calls have been placed to all the external candidates, and to this point only three have been returned.

- Hamilton and Alden each declined to comment on whether they had been contacted about the position, which means - if you've been around this business long enough - they've likely had at least a courtesy phone call. Probably more.

- Mickel told me he has not been contacted by Clemson, and likely wouldn't be interested if the call came. Mickel said he recently had a shift of positions/responsibilities with the bowl game, and leaving that job now probably isn't an option.

Stay tuned for updates as events warrant.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Reminder any individual can get his or her name on a list such as this simply by submitting an application for the job. Just because a name is on the list does not necessarily mean Clemson University initiated contact with the individual.)

Dan Scott covers Clemson University for the Florence Morning News. He also hosts SportsTalk from 10 a.m.-Noon, Monday-Friday, on WCCP-FM, 104.9.