Aug. 6, 2001

By Natalie Meisler
Denver Post

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The No. 2 administrators at Notre Dame and the University of Connecticut and the athletic director of the University of Dayton made the final cut for the Colorado State athletic director's vacancy and will visit the campus this week.

Jeff Hathaway, the UConn executive associate AD, arrives Tuesday. Hathaway, a 1981 Maryland graduate, held community relations posts with the Chicago White Sox and Washington Redskins before moving up the ranks at the Maryland athletic department. He followed athletic director Lew Perkins to UConn in 1990.

Dayton AD Ted Kissell comes in Wednesday. At Dayton, he ran a $5 million campaign to upgrade student-athlete facilities at the school's basketball arena and is in the midst of a $16 million fundraising project for an additional arena renovation. The school has served as a frequent host for early rounds in the NCAA Tournament.

Kissell, 55, spent 12 years at the University of Arizona, starting as men's tennis coach. He was taken under the wing of former Arizona AD and current NCAA executive director Cedric Dempsey and advanced through administrative posts, overseeing football and men's basketball.

Lawrence Cunningham, a 1984 Notre Dame graduate, played golf for the Irish and started in administration with the alumni club. He has held posts in ticketing, marketing and external affairs. He visits Thursday.

Day-long grillings with coaches, athletes, staff members, administrators and community members typically are referred to as "beauty pageants."

"I choose not to frame it as 'grueling,'" Kissell said. "What's really important is whether it's a good fit for the institution and the individual. It will give us both an opportunity to know each other better."

Kissell said he was encouraged to pursue the job by Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther. He has not pursued other positions and has turned down several inquiries, largely because he does not want to move his youngest daughter, a junior in high school.

"Colorado State is a top 25 football program," Kissell said. "It is a strong broad-based program, it has what appears to be a sense of perspective in the role of the athletic department on campus, and it is an attractive place to live." Kissell said he knows some might question his coming from a Division I-AA football program, but he worked closely with the football operation at Arizona and was in charge of the fundraising effort for a $7 million skybox project.

Cunningham said he is aware CSU is the only team in the preseason top 25 that is not a member of the so-called "equity" conferences. He said his interest is based on "CSU's potential, the progress and notoriety they have shown for the past five to seven years has been outstanding. The women's programs are terrific, as strong as any from top to bottom."

While he said he realized there are more challenges to raising funds at CSU than Notre Dame, Cunningham said, "CSU has 116,000 alums, the school needs to be strong in Fort Collins and develop the network in Denver."

Hathaway was not available for comment.

Public forums with each candidate are scheduled for 10:45 a.m. each day at the McGraw Center Auditorium.