UA hires 2 firms to aid in searches

FAYETTEVILLE — Officials at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville have retained a pair of firms to assist with the school’s ongoing searches for a permanent athletic director and a head football coach.

The UA announced Tuesday it will use personnel from the firm Korn Ferry on a consultative basis to vet candidates in the search for an athletic director, and will work with the executive search firm DHR International in the search

for a coach.

The UA has agreed to pay Korn Ferry a one-time fee of $75,000 for its services, plus direct out-of-pocket expenses based on the engagement letter signed Tuesday and obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette through a public records request.

According to the agreement, written by Jed Hughes, vice chairman of Korn Ferry, the firm’s work will consist of due diligence regarding:

■ Initial contact and outreach to determine interest in role

■ Vetting of candidates

■ Referencing of candidates

■ Provide insights and strategic guidance during the candidate vetting process

UA Chancellor Joe Steinmetz, in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Friday evening after the dismissal of Coach Bret Bielema, indicated he had chosen not to use a firm in the athletic director search and didn’t think a firm would be hired to assist interim athletic director Julie Cromer Peoples with the coaching search.

Had the UA contracted with Korn Ferry for full participation in the athletic director search, the fee likely would have exceeded $200,000.

Korn Ferry’s confidentiality guidelines — stipulated in an addendum to the engagement letter between the firm and the UA board of trustees — state “all communications between Vendor [Korn Ferry] and officers and employees of the University, and the search committee, shall be verbal, except as set forth herein.”

Additionally, it states all of its notes and work products are the property of Korn Ferry.

Cromer Peoples, who fired Bielema after Friday’s 48-45 loss to Missouri, was not

asked directly at her news conference Friday evening whether a search firm would be employed, but she discussed how the search would take place.

“Chancellor Steinmetz runs the university, so obviously he’ll be involved,” she said. “I’ll communicate with him throughout the process. But his focus is on finding an athletic director for us. My focus will be on launching the football search and finding a football coach for us.

“I do feel that I’ve been given the authority to go find the best football coach for us. At this point, we will not name a search committee. I do think that there will be some key, I’d call them, advisers … that I’ll lean on for their insight, particularly as it relates to our state and what can be successful here at Arkansas.”

Steinmetz, who dismissed 10-year Athletic Director Jeff Long on Nov. 15, conducted a teleconference that lasted about 90 minutes Tuesday morning with members of the school’s seven-member advisory panel. He provided a brief update in a UA news release announcing the search firms.

According to sources close to the committee, numerous candidates were discussed but no defined date for naming the athletic director was put in place.

“The search for an athletics director is progressing quickly and there are a number of talented individuals we are considering,” Steinmetz said in a statement. “The input from the advisory committee has been invaluable.

They truly represent the passion our state has for the Razorbacks and understand the importance of this position.

“The consultants will help us complete the evaluation process. We understand speed is of the essence and are working to name a new leader as quickly as possible.”

The UA release stated Korn Ferry, based in New York, would be used for “outreach, referencing and vetting final candidates” in the AD search and that “private funds would be used to pay for all of the costs associated with this service.”

Cromer Peoples said DHR International had been retained over the weekend.

“DHR International has an excellent reputation in our business and has already provided tremendous assistance to us in this process,” she said in a news release. “With the number of vacant coaching positions in our league and around the nation, it is important that we move forward expeditiously and efficiently in finding the next head football coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks.”

The UA also announced DHR International would be compensated by private funds from the Razorback Foundation, a self-supporting, nonprofit entity that serves as the fundraising arm for the athletics department. The UA did not disclose the costs associated with employing DHR International.

The Oregonian reported that Oregon State is paying DHR International up to $200,000 to help hire a football coach.

USA Today reported that

the University of Texas paid Korn Ferry $200,000 to lead a search for an athletic director in 2013. However, the services Arkansas has engaged Korn Ferry for appear to be of a smaller scope.

According to its website, DHR International is one of the world’s five largest search firms. The company’s sports division includes former Wisconsin athletic director Pat Richter and Glenn Sugiyama, a former board of directors member of the Chicago Bulls and former assistant basketball coach at Eastern Michigan who Forbes magazine called “one of the most influential men in college athletics” in 2012.

DHR International’s 2016 coaching searches resulted in North Texas hiring Seth Littrell and Toledo hiring Jason Candle, according to CBS. Both coaches will coach in conference championship games this weekend.

According to the Newport News Daily Press in Virginia, Korn Ferry’s high-profile searches in recent years have included Michigan’s hiring of football Coach Jim Harbaugh in 2015; the SEC’s promotion of Greg Sankey to commissioner in 2015; Texas’ hiring of Athletic Director Steve Patterson in 2013, football Coach Charlie Strong in 2014 and basketball Coach Shaka Smart in 2015; Florida’s hiring of football Coach Jim McElwain in 2014; and Miami’s hiring of football Coach Mark Richt in 2016.