More candidates for Georgia’s AD job, and a strong endorsement for McGarity

If you missed it, here’s my story from late yesterday on 49 people applying for the UGA athletic director job, including, to name a few, Florida executive associate AD Greg McGarity, long-time NFL exec Jim Steeg and Troy athletic director (and former UGA football player and assistant coach) Steve Dennis.

Now, digging deeper into almost 500 pages of correspondence between UGA and the AD applicants,  obtained by the AJC under the Open Records Act, here’s more:

• Among the applicants: Mark Parkman, who was a student assistant in the sports information department while attending UGA in the 1980s and has gone on to a varied career in sports business. He now is an executive with the International Olympic Committee’s broadcasting subsidiary. He lives in Atlanta.

• And another: Jay Rossello, who is director of legal affairs and assistant general counsel for the NCAA. In a cover letter sent with his resume, Rossello notes that he spent several summers of his youth in Athens “training and playing tennis under the tutelage of fellow Puerto Rican, current UGA men’s tennis coach and one of the all-time greats in the sport, Manuel Diaz.”

• In a hearty endorsement of McGarity for the job, U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., wrote to UGA President Michael Adams:

I am writing to enthusiastically recommend William Gregory McGarity (”Greg”) to the position of Athletic Director at the University of Georgia. I have known Greg since childhood, as he and I went to school together in Athens.

First and foremost, although he has spent the last 18 years at the University of Florida, Greg is indeed a bulldog. From 1973-1992, Greg worked his way up from a student assistant to the facilities and event management for the UGA Athletic Association. . . . Unfortunately for the Dawgs, the University of Florida recognized his talent and hard work ethic and he was off to Gainesville in the summer of 1992.

Greg has excelled at UF during his time there. As much as you and I hate to admit it, Florida is an athletic powerhouse. I believe Greg has a lot to do with the teams’ success. . . .

. . . Greg’s 37 years of work at two of the strongest athletic associations in the country make him the best candidate for the AD job. He has learned what it takes to run the entire department; whether it be managing events, searching for coaches, scheduling, or managing the budget, he knows and has executed it all. He is ready to get back to his hometown and to serve his alma mater in this distinguished position. I hope you will give him the fullest consideration possible.

• Like McGarity, Mark Lewis is a candidate for the job for the second time.  Lewis and McGarity were among five candidates interviewed before Damon Evans was hired in 2003. Lewis has business and law degrees from UGA, where he played football. He has had a distinguished career in sports business, heading General Electric’s Olympic sponsorship programs before his current position as president of Jet Set Sports (a provider of Olympic hospitality packages). He is the son of Bill Lewis, the former Georgia Tech head football coach and former UGA assistant football coach.

The search committee recently received an e-mail endorsing Lewis’ candidacy, to which UGA swim coach Jack Bauerle, a committee member, replied: “I have known Mark for a long time and he is a very good candidate and even a better person.”

• Many of the 49 applications are from people with no discernible experience in sports management. Among the professions  represented: lawyer, chief financial officer, sales manager, educational specialist, professor, conference center director, investment advisor, supply chain executive, general contractor and city administrator.