Temple to Name O’Brien as Athletic Director

Dave O’Brien, Long Beach State athletic director, will be introduced today as Temple’s athletic director at a morning news conference, sources in Long Beach and Philadelphia said Tuesday.

O’Brien, who has been in Philadelphia since Sunday night interviewing with Temple officials, told Long Beach President Robert Maxson on Tuesday that he had accepted Temple’s offer. Maxson promoted O’Brien from interim to permanent athletic director in 1991.

O’Brien, 39, will receive a base salary of about $150,000--a big increase over his Long Beach salary of about $100,000. Moreover, perks and bonuses could push the multiyear package considerably higher, sources said.

Maxson will quickly conduct meetings with Long Beach coaches to determine their top choice for an interim athletic director. Maxson also will seek input from the athletic department’s support staff and school faculty. After naming an interim director, Maxson will select a committee to conduct a national search for a permanent replacement.

Bill Shumard and Bill Husak are expected to be among Maxson’s leading candidates for the interim position. Shumard, formerly athletic director at Cal State Fullerton, is the assistant vice president for university relations and development. Husak is the associate athletic director.

Temple President Peter J. Liacouras is expected to join O’Brien at the news conference scheduled this morning.

The announcement will end weeks of speculation surrounding O’Brien, who also was expected to be offered the same post at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. O’Brien withdrew from consideration at William & Mary on Tuesday.

Maxson previously said if O’Brien was offered the William & Mary job, he would consider counteroffers to retain O’Brien. Maxson credits O’Brien with much of the athletic department’s recent overall success.

Budgetary constrains would have likely prevented Maxson from matching the salary O’Brien might have received from William & Mary--believed to be about $120,000. Maxson, though, could have upgraded O’Brien’s contract with perks and other bonuses.

But Long Beach could not approach Temple’s relatively lucrative offer. When Liacouras contacted Maxson by telephone Monday night, Maxson realized O’Brien was leaving.

“I told [Liacouras] that Dave is a great young man and a great athletic director, which is what I should have done,” Maxson said. “But I also told him that I hoped Dave didn’t get the job because I wanted him to stay at Long Beach.”