Kaverman withdraws name from among job finalists

Don Kaverman is staying put.

Kaverman, Southeast Missouri State's director of athletics, said Friday that he no longer is a candidate to become the associate athletics director at Ferris State (Mich.) University.

Kaverman was one of three finalists for the position at the Division II university. All three took part in on-campus interviews and public forums this week.

Ferris State officials said Friday they still have not made a decision on their new associate athletics director.

Kaverman said he withdrew his name from consideration before knowing if he would be offered the position.

"It was intriguing, but it's just not the right thing for me now," Kaverman said.

Kaverman emphasized that he is not unhappy at Southeast, and said he looked into the Ferris State post for a couple of reasons.

One, Kaverman has been friends with Ferris State athletics director Tom Kirinovic for a long time. The two worked together for four years when Kaverman was the university's coordinator of sports medicine from 1980 to 1986.

Two, Kaverman and his wife Sue both grew up within miles of the Ferris State campus, which is located in Big Rapids, Mich. Most of their extended family is still in that area and the 55-year-old Kaverman said he and Sue eventually will retire there.

"The athletic director is an old friend of mine. We've known each other 25 years. We talk regularly and I became aware of the opportunity," Kaverman said. "I decided to take a look at it. I've followed the university over the years. I do that every place I've worked. You have that sense of loyalty to the places you worked.

"I was first exposed to the university in 1961. My late father, who owned a cement plant, built half the buildings on that campus. I've got eight or nine years left [before retirement]. We'll probably wind up there at some point after I retire.

"For those reasons it was intriguing, but it just wasn't right for me now."

Kaverman is in his 10th year as Southeast's director of athletics, with his current contract expiring in June of 2009.

Southeast's athletic department has taken some hits recently, including last month's NCAA report addressing major rules violations within the women's basketball program that included an "institutional lack of control" tag.

Southeast's two highest-profile sports, men's basketball and football, have struggled in recent years, although several of the lower-profile sports continue to thrive.

Kaverman acknowledges that he continues to face plenty of challenges in directing Southeast's athletic department, but is determined to meet those head on as long as he is employed by the university.

"We've got work to do here yet. We have some challenges. We've taken our hits, but we've also had a lot of successes," Kaverman said. "There are a lot of positive things happening here.

"I know people are frustrated by football and men's basketball. Those have always been our biggest challenges. Funding is always going to be a challenge for us. It costs more and more to operate these programs.

"But there are a lot of people working hard to improve things. We're going to work as hard as we can to make this program successful."

Asked whether he expects to remain employed at Southeast past the length of his current contract, Kaverman said: "I don't want to speculate on my future here, how long that will be. I'm going to work as hard as I can every day that I'm the athletic director here."