Shafer to make call on basketball hire

The search for Southeast Missouri State's next men's basketball coach will be a little different.

That's probably welcomed news to Redhawks fans wondering how the program reached its current state a little more than two years after the hiring of Scott Edgar.

The university terminated Edgar's contract Dec. 30, after he had been placed on leave Oct. 9 pending the outcome of an NCAA investigation. The previous athletic director, Don Kaverman, was terminated on that same day in October.

Meanwhile, Southeast is 0-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 3-13 overall under acting coach Zac Roman.

Athletic-director-to-be John Shafer announced Saturday during his introductory reception that he would screen the applicants and make the recommendation to university president Dr. Kenneth Dobbins instead of using a search committee.

"He wanted to do it himself and review it," Dobbins said. "Generally speaking, that's normally how things are done on campus, but because it's visible, in the past we've had [search] committees."

The finalists are expected to take part in the public forums during their on-campus forums.

Shafer, who will begin his AD duties Feb. 1, said he already has heard from a number of parties about the position.

"I promise you, I bet I've got close to 100 recommendation, names, people that are interested," Shafer said after his news conference. "It's a job a lot of people are interested in. I'm amazed by the interest. It's phenomenal. It's not going to be hard to find a quality candidate."

He said Roman would be considered if he applies.

"It's wide open," Shafer said.

He did not put a timetable on the process, but was cognizant of the signing period in the spring. Schools traditionally use the Final Four in early April as a period of conducting serious interviews with some candidates, which Southeast did when Edgar was hired in 2006.

However, Southeast's status after Edgar was bought out during the season puts it in the position of identifying candidates before other jobs come open.

"I want to be prudent, and I don't want to be hamstringing myself by saying such and such a date," Shafer said. "I'm going to do it as quickly as I can and as efficiently as I can, but I'm not going to rush into a decision. This is a big hire, an important hire."

Dobbins said Saturday the decision to buy out Edgar was made as a Board of Regents action after some discussion.

He said he could not comment on why the board chose to buy out Edgar in December rather than wait for the NCAA Committee on Infractions hearing regarding the allegations of violations in the program.

"I'm sure there are many things the board took into consideration when they made their decision," Dobbins said.

The NCAA hearing is scheduled for April 17, Dobbins said.

Edgar's contract allows for termination with cause if NCAA rules are found to be broken.

But Dobbins also said the hearing could just be one step in the process with appeals to follow. The university, Edgar and assistant coach Ronnie Dean received correspondences from the NCAA seeking their response to the allegations, Dobbins said. Those responses are due in early February.

Edgar received a check for $286,300 from the university to cover his remaining base salary and his annuity -- in which he received $20,000 per year -- was transferred to him Dec. 30 and became taxable income.

Board of Regents member Jim Limbaugh, attending Saturday's event, said the decision was made because it was time for the program to move on.

Shafer agreed.

"Did I support it? Absolutely," he said. "It's time to move on. There's never a good time to replace anybody, but we've got to make this work. However this plays out, we've got to get the best person for the position.

"You can see there's a lot of enthusiasm and people are hungry. I want to do something to help that."

While Shafer's recommendation will replace the committee process, Dobbins said Saturday the process is not ultimately much different than the way things played out in 2006, despite those who believe he vetoed a recommendation to hire another candidate.

"That person was recommended to me," Dobbins said. "That was a recommendation and I agreed with the recommendation of the athletic director."