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Northern Illinois University

NIU Office of Public Affairs


News Release

Contact: Melanie Magara, NIU Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-1681

July 28, 2004

Search for new NIU athletics director
down to three finalists

DeKalb – Three high-profile athletics administrators from around the country will travel to Northern Illinois University’s main campus in DeKalb this week and next for a round of final interviews in the search for a new director of intercollegiate athletics.

The finalists (in alphabetical order) are:

  • Kevin Anderson, senior associate AD at Oregon State University and former executive associate AD at University of California, Berkeley;
  • Scott Barnes, Athletics Director at Eastern Washington University and former associate AD at Iowa State University; and
  • James Phillips, senior associate AD at Notre Dame and former assistant AD at University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Anderson, Barnes and Phillips emerged from a pool of more than 70 candidates in a national search begun last spring by a 12-member search committee. The committee, appointed by NIU President John Peters and chaired by Vice Provost Earl “Gip” Seaver, includes representatives from NIU’s faculty, staff, student, athletic, fundraising and alumni areas as well as the DeKalb community. The committee interviewed seven semi-finalists earlier this month before recommending three finalists to the university president.

“The quality of the entire (candidate) pool was just incredible,” Peters said. “It’s been gratifying to see such a high level of interest in NIU among such a large number of blue chip athletics administrators. I’m confident that this search will bring a person of vision and energy who will take NIU’s athletic program to the next level of competitiveness and accomplishment,” Peters added.

Peters said he expects the search to wrap up in early- to mid-August, with a formal announcement about the new AD coming in the next two to three weeks. The new NIU athletics director will replace former AD Cary Groth, who left in May for the top athletics position at University of Nevada at Reno.

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