Eastern trims A.D. field to three

Eastern Washington University has narrowed its choice for athletic director to three men, including the former A.D. at Indiana University, EWU spokesman David Rey announced Tuesday.

The three candidates will interview on campus in the next two weeks. Rey said EWU president Rodolfo Arévalo will make his choice soon after that process ends.

Michael McNeely, Darren Hamilton and Kelly Higgins make up the reduced pool.

McNeely is a collegiate sports advisor. Besides his stop at Indiana (where he stayed for 16 months before resigning in November 2002), McNeely was the vice president and chief operating officer of the San Diego Chargers, the A.D. at the University of the Pacific, director of operations and compliance and enforcement representative for the NCAA, and an assistant football coach for the University of Colorado.

Hamilton is the A.D. at Chicago State University. Previously, he was an assistant A.D. and director of student-athlete services at Bowling Green University, assistant A.D. at Cheyney University and coordinator of student-athlete programs at Penn State.

Higgins is the owner of KJH Sports Services, a company that offers specialized consulting and operational services within and external to intercollegiate athletics. Previously, he was assistant vice president and A.D. at the University of South Dakota and the A.D. at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.