If somebody asked me to name the leading candidate to replace Bob Frederick as Kansas University athletics director, I wouldn’t hesitate.
I’d say Eric Hyman.
Eric who?
Hyman is in his third season as AD at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and, the way I see it, he has two important positives.
One, Hyman has overseen a resurrection in TCU football, and I don’t have to tell you which university in the Sunflower State needs a football rebirth. Two, Hyman is a 1973 North Carolina U. graduate, which means he also understands the importance of men’s basketball.
At the same time, Hyman seemingly would be an amenable choice to KU men’s basketball coach Roy Williams (UNC Class of ’72) who, while not on the search committee, will wield considerably more than swing-vote power.
It could be argued, in fact, that Williams really is represented on the committee because Mike Davis, the former KU School of Law dean, is a good friend.
Hyman wasn’t a basketball player at North Carolina, but he once coached women’s basketball at North Greenville College in South Carolina.
Still, Hyman has a football background, playing three years for the Tar Heels at a time when they made three bowl appearances. Hyman spent nine years as a football aide at Furman, where he earned a masters degree in educational administration. Later he became an associate AD at Furman, Virginia Military and North Carolina State. He was athletics director at Miami of Ohio before moving on to TCU in December of 1997.
Hyman’s first hire was New Mexico football coach Dennis Franchione, who, as you know, enjoyed instant success with the Horned Frogs and since has moved on to Alabama.
You may also remember that Franchione and Terry Allen were two finalists for the Kansas University vacancy when Glen Mason left for Minnesota following the 1996 campaign.
Hyman, incidentally, promoted defensive coordinator and native Kansan Gary Patterson to head coach after Franchione left. Patterson, who hails from Rozel, is a former Kansas State linebacker.
Another positive for Hyman is the time he has spent in Texas. Surely by now he knows the mind-set of the Lone Star State sports booster and knows what KU is up against when it deals with fellow Big 12 Conference members Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
Can Kansas University afford Hyman? I don’t know. TCU is a private school and doesn’t have to divulge its salaries, but money may not be everything. Hyman could be ready like Franchione to move up to the next level.
TCU has waved bye-bye to the far-flung Western Athletic Conference and will play in Conference USA for the first time in 2001-2002. However, Conference USA is not quite on the same plane as the Big 12 Conference.
Then again, perhaps Hyman might be interested in leaving TCU just to get away from men’s basketball coach Billy Tubbs. Just kidding.
None of any of this speculation means Eric Hyman will become the next athletics director at Kansas University. Although Hyman has a heck of a portfolio, more often than not, when a search process is under way, the most likely candidates seem to fall by the wayside for one reason or another.
With a headhunting firm and a search committee in place, KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway faces no immediate need to replace Bob Frederick who will serve for another 40 days.
Again, I don’t know if the TCU athletics director will even have an interview. But his odds are at least 9-5 on the morning line.