Two Former Titan Athletic Directors Interested in Job

One former Cal State Fullerton athletic director, Lynn Eilefson, has expressed interest in his old job, and another, Neale Stoner, didn’t rule out a possible return.

Eilefson, who spent three years (1983-85) as Fullerton’s athletic director and is now a senior vice president with the Bank of Fresno, said he regretted leaving the school and will pursue the position that becomes vacant when outgoing Athletic Director Ed Carroll moves to UC Irvine on March 1.

“I’m certainly going to look into it because I’m very interested,” Eilefson said. “There are a ton of challenges and opportunities there, and I think they have great coaches. I miss it there. I should have never left.”

Eilefson left Fullerton in 1985 to become athletic director at San Jose State, where he spent one year. He followed that with two years at the University of Miami as associate director of marketing and fund raising.

Stoner, a Fullerton graduate who spent eight years (1972-79) as the school’s athletic director and 10 years (1979-88) as the athletic director at Illinois, is executive director of the California Raisin Bowl in Fresno.

He said he won’t actively pursue the job unless school President Milton A. Gordon contacts him.

“I’m interested as an alumnus and as a guy who started some of the programs there, but I don’t have any idea what Gordon’s plans are for the future,” Stoner said. “If there’s interest from him, I’m not hard to find. It’s all hypothetical at this point, but I didn’t think I’d be interested in the Raisin Bowl job, and here I am.”