A nationwide search to find a replacement for associate athletic
director Betsy Stephenson is underway just one week after
Stephenson announced she was leaving UCLA to take over as athletic
director at Emory University beginning July 1.
The search, spearheaded by UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero,
will be conducted on a national scale. According to UCLA spokesman
Marc Dellins, the job opening was posted Tuesday through UCLA in
addition to a notice that will be listed in the NCAA News.
E-mails and faxes have also been sent out to various Division I
schools announcing the vacancy. The job opening must be made
available for at least three weeks.
“After three weeks, Dan Guerrero will assess the
applicants to see if they are sufficient,” Dellins said.
While applicants may be asked to interview for the position
before the three-week time span expires, Dellins indicated it will
likely take the full three weeks to field prospective
applicants.
Though Stephenson will remain at her post in Westwood until May
31, UCLA coaches are already beginning to speculate about how her
departure will affect the athletic department.
Though they recognize that it was inevitable Stephenson would
one day leave, that doesn’t make it any easier to find a
replacement for her.
“I don’t necessarily think you find someone to fill
Betsy’s shoes,” women’s soccer coach Jill Ellis
said. “The next person will have to build their own
foundation and leave their own mark. They’ll have to be
dynamic, savvy about athletics, and somebody who is going to care
about the program and the department.”
Added gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field, “(Guerrero)
may need to restructure some things in the department.”
Kondos Field said she believes there would be a lot of interest
in the job, and that she expected “an extended search.”
She said she was not consulted when Stephenson was hired in 1996
and does not expect to be this time either.
“I trust Dan. I really do,” Kondos Field said.
Stephenson’s responsibilities at UCLA included overseeing
head coaches, as well as recruiting, academics and student
services. She has been credited for much of the success the Olympic
sports have enjoyed during her tenure.
Stephenson, however, did have her dark moments at UCLA. Under
her watch, the softball team was forced to vacate its 1995 national
championship because it used an ineligible player. Additionally,
Stephenson twice hired soccer coach Todd Saldana, who had a phony
bachelor’s degree.
Softball coach Sue Enquist was congratulatory toward Emory for
securing what she says will be a top-notch athletic director.
But Enquist also recognizes the need to identify and hire a
capable replacement here in Westwood.
“It’s just got to be someone who can appreciate the
philosophy of UCLA, that we are expected and required to sustain
academic excellence as well as making sure we succeed on the
field,” Enquist said.
Ellis, who was hired by Stephenson, also noted how significant a
role she has played in the athletic department’s recent
success.
“Everything that goes on here matters to Betsy,”
Ellis said. “She’s been a tremendous advocate for the
student-athlete and a proponent for them and their experience at
UCLA.”
With reports by Jeff Eisenberg and David Regan, Bruin sports
senior staff.