UNLV athletic director search will gain steam in mid-March

UNLV President Len Jessup, right, speaks during a news conference in Las Vegas, Tuesday, Sept.13, 2016, as Athletics Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy and Coach Tony Sanchez look on. (Chitose Suzuki/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

UNLV president Len Jessup, right, listens while Tina Kunzer-Murphy addresses University of Nevada Board of Regents, Friday, April 22, 2016, to approve the contract for new UNLV men's basketball coach Marvin Menzies. Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @jlscheid

Search committee chairperson Nancy Rapoport said she doesn’t want to know who is applying for UNLV’s athletic director job — at least not until March 15.

UNLV’s advertisement will remain on the university website until that date, and she wants to keep an open mind.

“The idea is to see how big of a pool we can get before we look at that,” Rapoport said Thursday. “March 15 is when the committee will really start taking a gander.”

She said she expected the process to hasten after that date, though anyone interested still could apply. The committee probably will meet at least twice before producing its finalists.

Todd Turner heads Collegiate Sports Associates, which is conducting the search. He is in weekly contact with Rapoport, who said the committee would forward its recommendations to university president Len Jessup.

“I think what (Turner) will probably do when the committee meets is give us his opinions,” Rapoport said. “But this is a committee decision, not a Todd decision.”

But she acknowledged Turner’s opinion would carry weight.

“Well, yeah, or we wouldn’t have hired him,” Rapoport said, laughing.

Rapoport said it’s her hope to bring the finalists to campus before graduation ceremonies May 13 and to have someone in place by June 30 when current athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy’s contract expires. Kunzer-Murphy then moves to the UNLV Foundation.

Jessup has said he prefers a candidate who can help to get the Rebels into a Power 5 conference. The university is expected to look closest at candidates from one of those schools, such as an associate athletic director.

Jessup has said, however, he also could consider a different kind of candidate, pointing to Arizona State hiring former NFL executive Ray Anderson three years ago.

The UNLV new athletic director will be in charge of a department that is $4.9 million in debt.

Fellow Mountain West member San Diego State agreed to a deal with Fox that the San Diego Union-Tribune reported would result in a 30 percent annual increase in rights fees. So pursuing such an avenue could be among the new UNLV AD’s top priorities.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.