ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 1996 TAG: 9605010047
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
THE PROCESS for finding Chuck Taylor's successor will intensify in mid-May.
As the search for a new athletic director at Radford University narrows, one piece of business the new person will not have to deal with is basketball coach Ron Bradley's contract.
Bradley recently signed a new deal with the university that will have him under contract for the next three years at a base salary of around $70,000.
Bradley had signed a one-year contract extension this winter.
``This time, we tore up the old contract and put together a new three-year contract,'' he said.
Bradley recently finished receiving a commitment from his third and last basketball recruit, 6-foot-8 Ryan Charles, who joins point guard Rian Everett from Tallwood High in Virginia Beach and 6-4 John Belt from Fairmont, W.Va., by way of Hargrave Military Academy.
Bradley is also putting the finishing touches on one of Radford's most challenging schedules ever. Games outside the Big South Conference include visits to Virginia, Georgia Tech, Evansville, Ohio University, Duquesne and East Tennessee State. Radford will entertain VCU, VMI, Marshall, and Richmond.
Bradley agreed to the new deal at the same time that the university official to whom the athletic department reports, vice president for student affairs Paul Harris, has been immersed in the search for a successor to athletic director Chuck Taylor, who has requested to return to the classroom.
``It seems like that's all I've been doing lately,'' Harris said.
Radford was not the only school in the Big South Conference to be searching for an AD. In something of a surprise Tuesday, the conference announced that Buddy Sasser had resigned as commissioner to accept the athletic director's job at Coastal Carolina, the same post in which he served before taking over the conference seven years ago.
Radford received about 75 applications for the athletic director job.
``It was a very strong field of candidates and one we feel very good about,'' Harris said.
A search committee has narrowed the field to about 14 candidates and is expected to meet Friday in order to pare the list down to between four and six, Harris said. Next week, Harris will be out of town. When he returns May 13, he expects to have a short list of hopefuls.
Aiding in the effort is a committee representing a cross section of university constituencies. Members include chairman Chuck Hayes, the NCAA faculty representative; Jackie Clouse, the head athletic trainer and the senior women's athletic administrator; Mick Stewart, a professor of recreation and leisure services and the women's cross country coach; Penny White, the associate admissions director; Buddy Johnston, the director of financial aid; Debbie Brown, the public information director; Ron Downs, the Dedmon Center director; Mandy Martin, a member of the athletic advisory council; Scott Beatson, a student government representative; Kim Hairston, a member of the women's basketball team; Susie Milton, a professor of mathematics and statistics; and Joann Fisher, a secretary at the university.
``We'd like to start interviewing the finalists in about the third week of May, but at this point, we don't even know who that is going to be, so we don't know when they're going to be able to come,'' Harris said.
Among those known to still have active candidacies for the AD job are Greig Denny, Dick Dull and Dave Beckman, sources close to the search say.
Denny is an associate athletic director at Radford who serves as the NCAA compliance representative. Dull is the athletic director at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a former AD at Maryland. Beckman is an assistant athletic director at Cleveland State.
Sasser takes over at Coastal from Andy Hendrick, who is returning to the classroom. Sasser, a former football coach at East Tennessee State and Wofford, is taking over at Coastal as it explores the possibility of adding a football program.
The Associated Press contributed information for this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB