FOUR FINALISTS NAMED FOR UAF ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2002

Fairbanks, Alaska - A University of Alaska Fairbanks search committee has selected four finalists for the athletic director position at UAF.

“We were extremely pleased with the caliber of the candidates who applied, and getting the list down to only four was quite a challenge,” said committee chairperson Scott McCrea.

The committee will be conducting reference checks of the finalists this week. Once the references have cleared, the finalists will be invited to Fairbanks sometime during the last two weeks of May for on-site interviews and a chance to meet with the campus and Fairbanks community.

The four finalists are Larry Lee, associate athletic director at University of Denver; Frank Diskin, athletic director at Rockhurst University in Kansas City; Sean Casey, former athletic director for University of Maine at Machias; and Len Nardone, athletic director for Genesee Community College in New York.

Lee is a 1981 graduate of Bartlett High School in Anchorage. He received his master’s degree in management from the University of Denver. He has been with the University of Denver athletic department since 1994, and has managed their marketing and recreation programs. Prior to joining Denver he served as a coach and executive director for the U.S. Judo Association and has volunteered as a coach for close to 10 years with the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes.

Diskin has worked for 30 years on the collegiate level as an administrator, coach and instructor. He has been athletic director at Rockhurst since 1985, and previously served as assistant director of athletics at Washburn University and director of athletics/dean of student development at St. Mary of the Plains College. He has coached a variety of collegiate sports, including basketball, volleyball, and football. Diskin has a master’s degree in education from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Casey is currently a principal for Penobscot Elementary School in Penobscot, Maine. He has served as director of intercollegiate athletics for Dickinson State University and was the athletic director for the University of Maine at Machias for 18 years. He holds a master’s degree in education from the University of North Florida and is a candidate for a doctor of education in degree sports management at the United States Sports Academy.

Nardone has been the director of health, physical education and athletics at Genesee Community College since 1997. He previously served as director of athletics for Philadelphia University and Seattle University. From 1989 to 1995 he was the athletic director for Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, and has extensive experience coaching men’s basketball, track and field, and cross-country. Nardone has a master’s degree in physical education from Springfield College and a doctor of education in sport’s administration from Temple University.

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CONTACT: Scott McCrea, Chair, UAF Athletic Director Search Committee, (907) 474-1157 or fnsjm@uaf.edu.