SpringfieldNewsSun.com

FAIRBORN — By the end of this week, Wright State expects to have a Final Four list of potential candidates to replace retiring athletic director Michael Cusack.

Formal interviews are to begin next week.

"We cut 47 applicants down to nine," said Trina Smith, WSU's volleyball coach and a member of the AD search committee. "There are eight of us on the committee. We had to rate all the applicants by 10 criteria. I was reading 3-4 resumes a day."

Vice president of student affairs Dan Abrahamowicz is doing the final cutting to four before entering the final stage of the search.

Two members of Cusack's staff applied — associate AD Bob Grant and assistant AD Matt Liddy.

Grant, a 1988 WSU graduate (with a 2000 MBA), has worked in the athletic department 15 years.

"We have to build up name recognition," said Grant. "We're not a household name outside of our region. I love this place, but I embrace change, too."

Liddy spent his first 20 years at the school as a swimming coach, the last 17 as head coach for the most successful sports team on campus. The last three years, he has been an administrator.

"There are lots of good candidates," Liddy said. "I don't think we lose if we go inside or outside. What do we need here? Promotions and fund-raising are the hottest topics around, I guess."

Cusack finishes his 26-year-run at the end of June, but Abrahamowicz said he would like to choose the school's new AD by the end of May.

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