UCLA Associate Athletic Director Betsy Stephenson could be
leaving Westwood in the near future if reports out of Lawrence,
Kan. are correct.
According to The Kansas City Star, Stephenson is expected to be
one of the leading candidates to replace Kansas Athletic Director
Al Bohl, who was fired Wednesday morning.
A former athletic administrator at Kansas from 1992-1996,
Stephenson said that she had not been contacted by anyone
associated with the Jayhawk Athletic Department yet, but did not
rule herself out as a candidate.
“I have not been contacted,” Stephenson said.
“And unless I am, I think any speculation would be
silly.”
Silly or not, Stephenson’s stellar credentials and close
friendship with Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams seem to make
her a logical choice for the job.
One of the factors in Bohl’s dismissal was likely his
rocky relationship with Williams.
Since Williams is the leading candidate for the vacant coaching
position at his alma mater North Carolina, hiring an athletic
director with whom he is friendly could be a potential bargaining
chip for the university.
Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway said that he plans to conduct
a national search for a replacement for Bohl, and he expects to
fill the position in the next few months.
The Jayhawk Athletic Department would not confirm whether or not
Stephenson was a candidate.
Currently in her seventh year at UCLA, Stephenson has taken on a
more visible role recently. She was the school’s liaison in
the NCAA rules violation case of DeShaun Foster this past year, and
also met with Ben Howland before he was hired earlier this
month.
Stevenson was one of three finalists for the UCLA athletic
director position last year, but stayed on when the university
chose Dan Guerrero instead.
“She’s eventually going to be an athletic director
somewhere,” UCLA men’s volleyball coach Al Scates
said.