The University of Michigan is getting some help to find a new permanent athletic director.
University President Mark Schlissel announced Tuesday morning of the school's hiring of Turnkey Search, a subsidiary of Turnkey Sports and Entertainment, along with the appointment of a search committee to find the school's new athletic boss.
“I have decided that the time is right to launch a national search for a permanent athletic director,” Schlissel said in a press release. "I will take as long as necessary to make sure it is a great fit for what I think is the best opportunity for an athletic director in the country.”
Schlissel said he would chair the committee and did not have a timetable in mind for the hire. Interim athletic director Jim Hackett — who's served since Dave Brandon's resignation left the department in a pile of rubble in October 2014 — will continue in that role until the search is complete. Hackett does not intend to be a candidate for the permanent position.
"Jim does not wish to be considered for the permanent AD role," Schlissel said. "I have asked him to serve on the search advisory committee because he knows well what is required for the position to be successful. Great university citizen that he is, Jim has agreed to stay on until a permanent successor is in place."
Whoever is selected is set to become the school's 11th athletic director in 150 years of athletics at the university. The person must also fulfill a list of key stipulations, as posted on the school's website.
