Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 24, 1995 TAG: 9506260057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOSTON LENGTH: Medium
Looking for a leader to take it through two hometown Olympics and into the 21st century, the U.S. Olympic Committee did as expected Friday and hired former NCAA chief Dick Schultz as executive director.
On a vote of 15-0 with one abstention, the USOC's executive committee rejected criticism of the 65-year-old administrator's commitment to athletes and the abrupt way he left the NCAA two years ago.
USOC leaders said Schultz had been top-ranked among contenders throughout their six-month search. After an all-day meeting that one participant described as ``not sedate, but not combative,'' committee members said he had answered all their questions and filled all their needs, including a deep interest in sports and the Olympics.
``He has a background of experience and doesn't have to go through too much of a learning curve to get up to speed,'' said LeRoy Walker, USOC president and head of the search committee that found Schultz among some 150 candidates. ``And that's important as we come up to Atlanta and everything beyond.''
The Olympics celebrate their 100th birthday in the Georgia capital next summer, and then Salt Lake City hosts the 2002 Winter Games. Schultz said he wasn't crazy about tackling the USOC job when first approached but that the lure of the Games on the horizon helped change his mind.
``It's really a very interesting and exciting challenge,'' he said. ``I think we have something rather unique with two Olympics in our country. That is a window of opportunity that has to be taken advantage of.''
Nevertheless, Schultz added, he probably would have withdrawn his nomination if the committee had not offered the job now.
``I'm at the stage of life where I don't have to work,'' he said. Schultz said he would dissolve a lucrative consulting business he ran in Westwood, Kan., before starting the USOC job, probably by Sept.1.
That will be just about a year since Harvey Schiller left the executive director's spot to become president of Turner Sports. John Krimsky has been interim executive director and will now return full-time to his job as deputy director and chief fund-raiser. He also will add the title of managing director of business affairs and report to Schultz, Walker announced.
Schultz said a phone call from Krimsky, an old friend, to ``please get involved in this position'' helped convince him he wanted the job.
For months, Schultz headed the USOC's list of candidates and appeared to be a shoo-in. But then questions arose.
Critics said he was too old. They said he stood back at the NCAA as colleges stripped programs such as wrestling and gymnastics in budget-cutting sprees. And they pointed to his hasty departure from the NCAA in May 1993, amid charges he lied about an improper loan program to student-athletes while athletic director at Virginia.
But Walker said an affidavit from the NCAA and Schultz's own actions convinced the committee the ethics charges were inconsequential. ``What Dick did was a noble gesture,'' Walker said. ``He looked his board in the eye and said, `You know I'm clean and I know I'm clean, but I won't allow this taint on the organization.'''
``That's behind us,'' Schultz said.
Bonny Warner, a former Olympic luger and a search committee member, said she and other athletes recognized after their investigation ``that one person can't be responsible for all the complexities of the NCAA.''
And Anita DeFrantz, a member of the ruling bodies of both the USOC and the International Olympic Committee, said she had worked with Schultz and found him honorable and ready to help athletes.
``I think he'll do a great job,'' DeFrantz said. ``It's good to have an executive director who is doing it for the love of the movement. I'll be glad to introduce him to the international community.''
Even Chris Campbell, a former wrestler and the most vocal board opponent of Schultz prior to Friday, said he came around in the end.
``It was important that he explained to us what he did for athletes, and I was satisfied with his explanation,'' Campbell said.
And Schultz described himself as a ``fairly young 65'' who is committed to the USOC through the Sydney Games in 2000 and eager to lead it through Salt Lake two years later.
``I have a fairly high energy level,'' he said. ``They may get tired of me before I get tired of the job.''
Contract talks will start soon. Schultz is expected to get a minimum five-year deal worth at least $350,000 annually.
Schultz was one of three finalists interviewed Friday by the executive committee. The others were Mike Jacki, former executive director of both U.S. Skiing and USA Gymnastics, and Kenneth Burnley, an educator from the USOC's hometown of Colorado Springs, Colo.
by CNB