ASU’s Welch hopes for ‘nimble’ AD search

It was just more than a month ago that Arkansas State University Chancellor Kelly Damphousse was named the sole finalist in Texas State University’s presidential search.

Little did those in Jonesboro know that the search for another major administrator would begin a few weeks later.

But with Athletic Director Tom Bowen’s surprise resignation April 21, the task of leading concurrent hiring processes now falls to ASU System President Charles

Welch.

Identifying Damphousse’s replacement will take some time. According to a post on the

ASU website, a formal review of applications will not begin until May 23.

Welch said he believes finding the next athletic director can happen in a more “nimble” fashion. In an interview with Jonesboro television station KAIT-TV, Welch said that he “absolutely” expects to have Bowen’s successor in place by the start of the school year, potentially by July 1.

“I’m fully aware that hiring an athletic director who doesn’t know who the chancellor will be — that adds another element to the process that you have to be sensitive to,” Welch told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in April.

When Welch and Damphousse conducted the search that ultimately wound up with Bowen replacing now- Central Florida Athletic Director Terry Mohajir last March, they utilized the services of TurnkeyZRG, a New Jersey-based search firm specializing in the sports and entertainment industries.

Although ASU’s opening is currently listed on Turnkey’s website, ASU system spokesman Jeff Hankins told the Democrat-Gazette that the firm is providing “very limited assistance” to Welch this time around.

Hankins also confirmed that Welch has spoken with multiple individuals about the opening but did not specify how many had expressed interest. When asked through an athletics spokesman, acting athletic director Amy Holt declined to comment on whether she would apply for the full-time role.

So who could be among the mix?

Welch told the Democrat-Gazette he’s going to want “someone who is familiar with FBS football” at either the Power 5 or Group of 5 levels.

Holt, having been with the Red Wolves since July 2013, would qualify, as would Central Florida Senior Deputy AD Rich Zvosec, who served as ASU’s interim athletic director following Mohajir’s departure before following his boss to Orlando.

Recent Sun Belt Conference AD hires include Christian Spears at soon-to-be member Marshall in Feb. 2022 and Jared Benko at Georgia Southern in March 2020.

Spears and Benko were previously serving as deputy athletic directors at Pittsburgh and Mississippi State, respectively.

If ASU were to follow the pattern of plucking a deputy from a power-conference school, it might consider 47-year-old Alabama Executive Deputy AD Jeff Purinton. A graduate of Florida State who has been with the Crimson Tide since 2007, Purinton applied for the Arkansas State job last year, according to emails acquired by the Democrat-Gazette through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Another name to watch from the power-conference ranks is Oklahoma Deputy AD Zac Selmon, who overlapped with Damphousse from 2015-17 when Damphousse — then Oklahoma’s Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences — served as the Sooners’ faculty athletic representative.

There’s also the consideration of local ties.

Although there are not many obvious potential candidates from that pool, one source mentioned Kale Gober, Grand Canyon University’s vice president of advancement.

Before heading west, Gober worked in the University of Central Arkansas’ Division of Advancement, was an assistant AD at the University of Arkansas and began his career at his alma mater, Henderson State — now also within the ASU System — where he started serving as athletic director at age 25 in 2010.

“I’m not sure if that person is out there. I’m not sure who that might be,” Welch said when asked about identifying a candidate connected to the ASU community. “When we hired Terry … we weren’t aware that Terry was somebody that might be a candidate until he approached us and obviously, his familiarity with the university was a factor.”

Welch