Usher Is Among Four Finalists for USOC Job

Harry Usher, who was executive vice president of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, and Harvey Schiller, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, are among four finalists for the United States Olympic Committee’s executive director position, a source close to the USOC said Tuesday.

The source said one of the other candidates is Joe Bailey, an executive with the Dallas Cowboys. The name of the fourth finalist was unavailable.

A search committee, chaired by former USOC president William Simon, will submit one of the four names to the USOC’s executive board, which is expected to vote on the recommendation at a meeting in Oklahoma City Oct. 23-25.

Baaron B. Pittenger, the USOC’s assistant executive director since 1981, has been acting as executive director since Aug. 24, when George D. Miller resigned under pressure. Miller held the position for 2 1/2 years.

Pittenger, the source said, will be asked to remain with the USOC in his previous role, adding that Schiller is the leading candidate but that Usher also has some support among executive board members.

Usher, 47, practiced law in Los Angeles before becoming Peter Ueberroth’s top assistant with the LAOOC.

Before accepting his current position as president of Weintraub International, he was commissioner of the United States Football League.

Schiller, 49, is a member of the USOC’s Executive Board and chairs the USOC’s Games Preparation Committee, which handles logistics for U.S. teams at the Olympics and Pan American Games.