Cleary Interviews For A.D. Post

Although not expected to announce Harvard's new athletic director for another two months, the eight-person selection committee chaired by Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 may have met with its winner yesterday.

Crimson men's hockey Coach Bill Cleary '56, who was interviewed yesterday by the committee, is considered by many in Harvard sports to be the early front runner among the more than 50 applicants hoping to suceed current athletic director Jack Reardon '60.

When asked about Cleary's application, Jewett said. "We're not prepared at this time to discuss specific candidates." But a story which ran in The Boston Globe yesterday announced that Cleary seemed to have the inside track for the post.

Reardon announced last May that he would step down as athletic director, a post he has held since 1977, but he will continue to be Harvard's athletic director until a successor is named. He is also the director of the Harvard Alumni Association, a title he acquired last May.

"We'll probably be doing interviews over the next month. I hope by the middle of December we will be able to [move] towards a more final decision," Jewett said. "The timetable could be pushed back. I think it's unlikely that it will be advanced any." When the search committee was named earlier this fall, a final decision was originally expected by December 20. Now the announcement of a new athletic director is not expected until after January 1.

Although Jewett declined to comment on individual applicants, he said he thought a connection with the Harvard-Radcliffe community would be valuable to the eventual winner of the post. "A person without experience or familiarity would be at some disadvantage [in the selection process]." But he added that the successful candidate would not necessarily be a Harvard-Radcliffe graduate, saying, "There are a number of ways a person might have gotten that contact."

Reardon was named Harvard's athletic director in 1977 only after the original choice, Williams College Athletic Director Robert Peck, refused the job because of opposition by undergraduates and alumni to a non-alumnus being named to the post.

While not being a Harvard graduate seems to jeopardize the chances of Associate Director of Athletics Fran Toland, another leading candidate for the position, his experience in the Harvard athletic department should help his chances.

Background

Cleary, who said he was urged by alumni to apply for the post of athletic director, starred on the Harvard hockey team before competing on the gold medal-winning 1960 USA Olympic Team. He was also an assistant coach with the team.

Still, Cleary is unsure of his future plans. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm not sure what I'd do if they offered [the post] to me. I haven't made that decision yet," Cleary said.

According to Arthur Berglund, the general manager of the National Ice Hockey Team, Cleary has expressed through the media and to executive members of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States that he is interested in coaching the 1992 Olympic team.

Berglund admits that Cleary is an attractive choice. "If you make a list [of serious candidates], you have to put him on the list."

But Cleary's chances of coaching Team USA are hampered by his reluctance to commit himself to coaching the team through both of the next two Olympics, which will be held in 1992 and 1994.