SE: NEW COACH IS NO. 1 PRIORITY

~Correction: The jump for this story was not printed on this date. Whole story was reprinted 5-21-97.

Southeast Missouri State University executive vice-president Kenneth Dobbins says the school wants to move as quickly as possible in its search for a new head men's basketball coach.

Ron Shumate, Southeast's head men's basketball coach the past 16 seasons, was fired last week amid an ongoing NCAA investigation into the Indians' program.

Also last week, assistant coach Randy Curl was suspended and will not have his contract renewed when it runs out in late June and fellow assistant coaches Kirk Cochran and Scott McCowan resigned.

"We want to move as quickly as we can," said Dobbins. "It's a high priority for us."

Dobbins said on Monday that the school plans to make a formal announcement soon regarding the process that will be used to ultimately select a new coach.

The process figures to include an initial search committee, which will then take on the large task of sifting through possible candidates.

Southeast is also in the search process for a new athletic director. Richard McDuffie left the school earlier this year to take a similar position at Eastern Illinois University.

(Dobbins said that a search committee for the athletic director's post has been established, the committee being co-chaired by Joe Low and Mike Dougherty. Low is the school's NCAA faculty representative while Dougherty is the school's personnel director.

"That's still in its very early stages," said Dobbins of the search for a new athletic director. "The basketball coaching position will be priority No. 1."

Dobbins said he considers the basketball position an attractive one that is sure to attract a number of impressive applicants.

"We have already had a number of people call to inquire about the position," he said. "I think the position is one that a lot of people look at as a good opportunity."

The position figures to attract candidates from across the nation, including current head coaches at Division II, Division III and lower-level Division I programs in addition to assistant coaches at some of the nation's higher-profile basketball programs.

One name that has already surfaced as a possible candidate is Iowa State assistant Sam Weaver, who was Ron Shumate's top assistant coach on several of Southeast's national powerhouse Division II teams of the 1980s. Weaver has also been an assistant at Southern Illinois and a head coach at Alcorn State.

Meanwhile, also on Monday the Southeast Booster Club Board issued its first official statement regarding Shumate's firing. The Southeast Booster Club provides the primary funding for all athletic scholarships at Southeast.

The statement had praise for the work Shumate and his staffs did over the years in building one of the nation's best Division II programs and for turning on the region to his style of basketball.

The statement also said that Shumate's efforts contributed to the Show Me Center becoming a reality and to the marked growth of the Southeast Booster Club.

Also, the statement encouraged Southeast Booster Club members to continue their contributions to Southeast's athletic programs regardless of the opinions they may hold concerning the termination of Shumate and his staff.)