Hide Article Text (OCR)
The president of a Tempe real estate firm who has been agent with a number of professional athletes and a 1%3 graduate of Arizona State University, has been named the new NAU athletic director.Gary Walker, was announced as the choice Saturday by NAU president Eugene Hughes.“Gary was perceived by everyone involved with the interview as energetic and sparked the imagination of the people he met with,” said Frank Besnette, vice president for administration and finance.Walker was one of the finalists in November when the administrators had narrowed the candidates to four. He withdrew his name but resubmitted his application after giving the matter considerable thought.“He doesn’t have the traditional collegiate background but there was a collective feeling that he would pick up the day-to-day experience veryrapidly,” Besnette said.Walker, 44, has been involved with the cofunding of the original Phoenix Raquets of worldTeam Tennis and a former business associate with Reggie Jackson and has been agent for several prominent professional athletes.“He hopes to be here in one to two week,” Besnette said.The announcement came early as the administration had intended to make their decision by Monday.Walker said he didn't want an office in the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome and he wanted the athletic department to be an integral part of campus.“In the long run we’re going to look at the pros and cons of possibly putting him into the mainstream of the college,” Besnette said.“We’ve got to create a whole new image of excellence on the athletic field,” Walker was reported as saying in an interview.He also added he wants to promote NAU athletics in the community and would like to see the university recruit as many Arizona athletes as possible.
Newspaper Details
, ,
Mon, Jan 01, 0001
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
AZ, USA 06 May 2020
Other Publications Near ,
Flagstaff Skylight Kicker
Flagstaff Coconino Weekly Sun
Flagstaff Arizona Champion
Flagstaff Coconino Sun
Flagstaff Lumberjack
