Tulane Close To Hiring New AD To Replace Retiring Rick Dickson

Tulane is "moving closer" to naming an AD to replace the retiring Rick Dickson. A source confirmed that school President Mike Fitts on Sunday "interviewed the finalists." Two of them are Tulane Deputy AD & COO Barbara Burke and Baylor Deputy AD Todd Patulski. A third could be Auburn COO David Benedict, but it is "unclear whether he’s still in the running." The new AD "will be in charge of picking a football coach to succeed Curtis Johnson, who was fired Saturday" (THEADVOCATE.com, 11/30).

Meanwhile, top Univ. of Illinois officials said that they "plan to announce a search committee" for a new AD "by the end of the week, with hopes of choosing a successor to Mike Thomas by the Jan. 21 Board of Trustees meeting in Chicago" (Champaign-Urbana NEWS-GAZETTE, 12/1).