VACCUM IN ATHENS: UGA searches for new AD

A week ago, Damon Evans was at the pinnacle of his profession.

A week ago, his fourth floor corner office in the Butts-Mehre Heritage Building housed his antique golf clubs, framed diplomas from his alma mater and blue prints of the expansions and renovations to Butts-Mehre and Stegeman Coliseum he’d brought to life.

A week ago, he could look out his window and see the empire he’d built upon and reigned over at the University of Georgia.

And in one formidable fall from grace, he figuratively threw himself out his fourth floor corner office window, landing in an Atlanta jail cell and the unemployment line.

“My behavior, my actions were not indicative of what we teach our student athletes at the University of Georgia,” Evans said in a news conference July 1. “My goal has always been to represent this institution in utmost fashion. Unfortunately, I failed at that. I failed miserably.”

WILD NIGHTS …

Evans was arrested June 30 and charged with drunk driving and failure to maintain his lane on Roswell Road in Atlanta. Georgia’s former athletic director committed an offense he preached to his student-athletes, Georgia fans and Bulldog Nation about avoiding.

The release of the incident report sealed Evans’ fate. He had “a couple drinks” and “didn’t think I was drunk,” according to the incident report. The arresting office M. Cabe categorized Evans’ behavior as “crying” and “talkative” and noted his eyes were “watery” and “bloodshot,” according to the incident report.

Evans tried to use his position as athletic director to prevent the arresting officer from taking him to jail, further digging his grave, saying to Cabe, “I am not trying to bribe you, but is there anything you can do without arresting me?’”

A couple vodka martinis, “a red pair of lady’s panties,” one arrest and one “black cloud” later, Evans is out of work and no longer has a $550,000 salary.

“Drinking and driving is a serious matter, and I was extremely disappointed to hear of the arrest,” University president Michael Adams said through a prepared statement released July 1. “Certainly this is not an example of the kind of leadership that I expect our senior administrators to set.”

Despite the financial success Evans had in his position, the pending DUI charged forced his hand in resigning. He signed a severance agreement with Adams and the University July 4. His nameplate was quickly removed from his office and off Georgia’s athletics website, replaced by “TBA.”

“It had been my hope since taking the job in 2004 that I would have a long career at UGA,” Evans said in an apology released Tuesday. “But because of a serious mistake in judgment, that won’t be the case and I understand that I have a long road to rebuilding my reputation and career.”

Though his reputation is tarnished, his career is in shambles and his family life is shaken up, the former Georgia wide receiver has left that “black cloud” over Georgia’s athletic department. His fourth floor corner office remains unoccupied and the search for his replacement ensues.

FRANK CRUMLEY …

Adams named Frank Crumley interim athletic director Tuesday, but said he wants to begin the search for the new athletic director outside of the Georgia family and wants “a person of integrity,” though Adams did not rule Georgia staffers out.

“This is one of the best five or six AD jobs in America, I believe, and I assure you there will be no shortage of interest,” Adams said in a news conference Tuesday. “I think in all these cases, anyone you want already has a good job and so you have to work with someone else’s schedule other than your own. I’m looking for someone who has a very high level of experience.”

Crumley, who was the executive associate athletics director for finance and business under Evans, was the headman in charge of all of the financial moves made under Evans’ tenure. Crumley helped secure a $92.8 million deal with International Sports Properties in 2009, which has the biggest annual payout in college athletics. He has been with Georgia’s athletic department since 1991 and served as chief financial officer for the athletic department, responsible for day-to-day operations and budget planning. Crumley’s skill set with crunching numbers and budgeting the athletic department’s lucrative earnings giving him a leg up on the other in-house candidates.

CARLA WILLIAMS …

Senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator Carla Williams is a Bulldog through and through. She played under Andy Landers from 1986-89, which makes her capable of handling athletes and knowing what they go through on a day-to-day basis. As she worked on her MPA at Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs, she landed an assistantship with the women’s athletic director at the time Liz Murphy before moving on for a stint with the Vanderbilt athletic department. Williams has a strong sense of what it takes for student-athletes to succeed in the classroom and in their respective sports. With her help, Georgia secured a 75 percent graduation rate for the 2009-10 school year, highest in school history.

GREG MCGARITY …

Florida’s executive senior associate director Greg McGarity is from Athens. He has been on staff with Florida’s athletic department since 1992, the time period of Florida taking the Bulldogs to school on the gridiron. Many thought he was a shoo-in when former Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley retired in 2004. But with Adams’ ongoing and very public feud with Dooley, McGarity’s chances of landing the gig were severally hurt by his relationship with Dooley, through no fault of his own. He has worked under two of the best in the business in Dooley and Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley, but Adams still hates Dooley. And that fiery mess could prevent the native Athenian from rejoining the Bulldog family.

The search is on, and Adams said he expects it to take from six months to one year to fill the coveted position. With the reigns of college’s second highest grossing athletic department flapping in the wind, Adams and company need a name to put on the athletic director’s office door and to replace the ‘TBA’ by director of athletics on Georgia’s athletic website.