The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Sports

June 30, 2009

Marshall to take its time in search for new AD

By Gary Fauber

As Bob “Kayo” Marcum spends his last day as Marshall’s athletic director, fans are asked to remember one word as they wait for his successor to be named.

Patience.

Marcum will retire today, ending a seven-year run as AD at his alma mater. The Huntington native was hired in 2002, originally on an interim basis.

Among his pre-Marshall stops were a nine-year stint as AD at the Univeristy of Massachusetts and a two-year stay as general manager of Atlanta Motor Speedway.

While at Marshall, Marcum oversaw the school’s 2005 move from the Mid-American Conference to Conference USA. A new football weight room, the switch of home football kickoff times from 7 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and a new softball complex are just a few of the other things that happened on Marcum’s watch.

Now, with the football team struggling and a new baseball facility sorely needed, the search is on for Marcum’s replacement.

Marshall officials are keeping mum on candidates for the position. National search firm Eastman & Beaudine Inc. was hired in May to conduct the process, and a 10-person search committee was appointed June 4. Ideally, a successor would be in place by the start of football season, but there isn’t exactly a solid timetable.

“A rough estimate is 6-8 weeks, but we will continue the search until we find the very best person to be the next athletic director of Marshall University,” Bill Bissett wrote in an e-mail Monday. Bissett is Marshall president Stephen J. Kopp’s chief of staff. “We ask that Marshall fans and the media are patient as we continue the process.”

The administration is being sure to protect the identities of any and all candidates.

“It is important that the search be confidential in nature, not only for its own sake, but also to protect the current position of any potential applicant,” Bissett wrote.

Bissett also would not divulge who might serve as interim AD until a permanent successor is found.

“We expect to have an announcement soon,” he said.

The search committee is chaired by MU Board of Governors member John Hess.

The other members are: A. Michael Perry, Board of Governors; Robert Bookwalter, Ph.D., faculty athletic representative; Camilla Brammer, Ph.D., faculty senate representative; Shari Clarke, vice president for Multicultural Affairs; Robert Plymale, executive director, Rahall Transportation Institute; Larry Tweel, MU Foundation representative; Sean Hornbuckle, Student Government Association president; Mark George, Big Green Foundation representative; and Steve Ellis, Charleston Quarterback Club representative.

— E-mail: gfauber@

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