UI Candidates Familiar Two Finalists For A.D. Position In Running For Job 2 Years Ago

The University of Idaho’s hunt for a new athletic director looks a lot like its previous search.

Two of the four candidates - Peter Hart and Jim Schaus - were finalists less than two years ago when Idaho selected Oval Jaynes, who left earlier this month for Tennessee-Chattanooga.

Hart is an assistant athletic director at Utah. Schaus was an associate A.D. at Cincinnati when he interviewed previously, but he’s since taken a job in the private sector.

Other finalists are Drake A.D. Lynn King and Colorado State associate A.D. Mike Bohn.

Interviews will take place in the next 10 days. Schaus will be the first to visit the area, coming in Wednesday. UI left open the opportunity to interview additional candidates.

“We’ve been able to identify some individuals with the kind of skills we’re going to need at Idaho over the next several years,” search committee chairman Larry Branen said.

UI assistant A.D. Mike Marlow did not apply. Several sitting A.D.s, including Montana State’s Chuck Lindemenn and Portland State’s Jim Sterk, declined to apply.

Each candidate will attend functions in Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Boise and Twin Falls, in addition to visiting the Moscow campus.

Hart, a 1984 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, has been at Utah for eight years. He’s currently executive director of Utah’s Crimson Club. He previously was assistant A.D. at Connecticut.

Schaus has been an assistant A.D. at Cincinnati, Northern Illinois and Oregon. He graduated from West Virginia in 1987.

Bohn handles Colorado State’s external operations. He previously was director of marketing for the College Football Association and was an assistant A.D. at Air Force. He graduated from Ohio University in 1984.

King has been A.D. at Drake since 1990. He previously was A.D. at North Carolina-Asheville and an assistant A.D. at Northern Iowa. The 1972 graduate of Northern Iowa is the chair of NCAA Division I Track and Field Committee.

King’s resume as a veteran A.D. most closely resembles that of Jaynes, who was selected in October, 1996.

, DataTimes