Director of Athletics Joe Alleva was named one of four finalists Wednesday to become Louisiana State University's next athletic director.
The 13-member LSU Athletic Director Search Committee interviewed six candidates on the Baton Rouge campus Wednesday, narrowing the field to four before presenting its final recommendation to Acting Chancellor William Jenkins later that evening.
In his interview with the committee, Alleva was asked a series of questions, including several pertaining to the circumstances surrounding the 2006 Duke Lacrosse case, said ADSC Chair Jack Weiss, chancellor of the university's Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
Although he said he could only speak to his own impressions and not those of the committee as a whole, Weiss said he was taken by Alleva and his presentation before the committee.
"What made Mr. Alleva stand out to me [was that] he has extensive experience running a very successful athletic program at a school that has high academic standards," Weiss told The Chronicle. "Mr. Alleva impressed me as a person of high integrity who would very much fit the bill here in terms of an athletic director with high standards for our department."
Weiss also said Alleva seemed "passionately interested in the job."
Of the four remaining finalists, only Alleva has experience as an athletic director. He was reappointed to his position by President Richard Brodhead in August and has been at the helm of Duke's program for 10 years. Alleva has served various roles within the Department of Athletics since 1980.
The three other candidates include two Louisiana State senior associate athletic directors, Verge Ausberry and Herb Vincent, and University of Kentucky Deputy Athletic Director Rob Mullens.
Although Jenkins received the committee's recommendation Wednesday, the timing of his final decision remains unclear.
"The committee expressed that the chancellor's decision should come as soon as possible after the recommendations were made to him, but there was no set timetable," said Rusty Jabour, LSU's vice chancellor of communications and university relations.
Jabour said Jenkins had not provided further scheduling details as of Wednesday night, but that updates on the search could be found as early as Thursday morning on the university's Web site.
Weiss said he was also unsure of how quickly the decision would be made, saying it could take hours or days.
A Duke official close to the situation confirmed Wednesday evening that Alleva would stay overnight in Louisiana.
When Jenkins makes his decision, it will still need to be ratified by the LSU Board of Supervisors at its April 25 meeting, where University System President John Lombardi will be present.
Dan Parker-president of Parker Executive Search, the consulting firm hired by LSU officials to build a list of candidates to succeed outgoing Athletics Director Skip Bertman-declined an interview with The Chronicle Wednesday.
Alleva was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
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