The Candidates

Betsy Stephenson

UCLA

associate athletic director,

six years

Stephenson’s workload has increased as the 19-year tenure of Athletic Director Pete Dalis has come to a close. Last fall, she was the liaison to the NCAA in rules infraction cases involving tailback DeShaun Foster and volleyball player Kristee Porter.

However, she also hired soccer coach Todd Saldana twice--as women’s coach in 1998 and as men’s coach in 1999--without recognizing that his bachelor’s degree was from an unaccredited university. Saldana resigned under pressure in January.

In addition to supervising 12 men’s and women’s sports, Stephenson oversees the recruiting, academic services, student services and marketing units.

Stephenson had many of the same responsibilities from 1992-96 as associate athletic director at Kansas, her alma mater. She played on the Jayhawk volleyball team and graduated in 1983.

Her first administrative job came with the NCAA, and for four years she was director of Division I men’s basketball operations. At UCLA, she succeeded longtime administrator Judith Holland, who during a 20-year tenure saw Bruin women’s athletics evolve from little more than a recreational activity with a $263,000 budget into one of the nation’s top programs.

If hired, she would join a select group of female Division I athletic directors that includes Barbara Hedges of Washington, Deborah Yow of Maryland and Judy Rose of North Carolina Charlotte.