| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Bartow named interim athletics director at San Diego State
Tuesday June 17, 2003SAN DIEGO (AP) Former UCLA basketball coach Gene Bartow was hired as the interim athletic director at San Diego State on Monday.
Bartow, who also served as coach and AD at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, will begin a three-month term on July 1. San Diego State is rebuilding its department after an audit found poor management practices and misuse of equipment.
Rick Bay, the Aztecs' athletic director since 1995, resigned last month in the wake of the audit by the California State University. The university fired senior associate athletic director Jana Doggett and placed equipment room manager Steve Bartel on leave pending disciplinary action.
SDSU President Stephen Weber said he plans to name a permanent athletic director by Jan. 1. He announced that a search committee has been formed and will have its first meeting next week.
Bartow, 72, spent 23 years at Alabama-Birmingham, where he served in the dual roles of basketball coach and athletic director, before retiring in 2000. In his first nine years as coach of the Blazers, he led them to seven straight NCAA tournaments.
``My goal is to make this department run as smoothly as possible. I will try my hardest to serve San Diego State in an honorable manner,'' Bartow said. ``The image, in my opinion, that San Diego State enjoys nationally is one of great respect when you think of the coaches we have on this staff.''
Steve Fisher, who won an NCAA title at Michigan, is San Diego State's basketball coach, and alum Tony Gwynn, an eight-time NL batting champion and member of the 3,000-hit club, is the baseball coach.
Before moving to Alabama, Bartow took two teams to the Final Four, including his 1973 Memphis State team which lost to UCLA in the championship. Two years later, he succeeded John Wooden at UCLA, going 52-9 in two seasons.
He currently serves as special adviser to the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.
``It's not about money. My lifestyle is not going to change whether I'm here 90 days or not,'' Bartow said. ``It's not about ego. I don't really need it but I do like to work.''
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