Former Big Eight commissioner Charles M. Neinas has been hired by USF to assist in a national search for a new athletic director. The announcement was made by Search Committee Chairman Hinks Shimberg on Thursday.

Neinas, who has assisted other universities in such a capacity, is the former assistant executive director of the NCAA and has also served as the executive director of the College Football Association. Neinas will be responsible for creating a list of possible candidates, researching possible candidates and setting up interviews. The Search Committee will make the final decision.

Kiefer signs seven for 2004 recruiting class

USF men’s soccer coach George Kiefer announced his 2004 recruiting class Thursday. Kiefer, in his third season as coach, has signed seven players to national letter of intent, including Colby West, brother of USF sophomore standout Hunter West.

Four out of the seven recruits hail from Florida. Rodrigo Hidalgo, Osmany Hernandez, Frankie Slater and West have all won state championships in their respective high school classifications and have all been selected as all-state players.

The other recruits include Christian Jimenez, Freddy Hall and Simon Schoendorf. Jimenez is from San Dimas, Calif., and has been named a Top-100 prospect in the country by TopDrawerSoccer.com. Hall, a native of Bermuda, played in New Hampshire and was named Boston Globe All-Scholastic Player as well as an All-New England selection. Schoendorf, a native of Germany, has led his school to success winning the German equivalent of the state and regional championships.

Kiefer’s 2003 class was No. 10 in the country according to College Soccer News.

Leather named All-C-USA third team, McCullum fires assistant

USF basketball player Terrence Leather became only the sixth player in school history to be named to an All-Conference USA team.

Leather, who led the Bulls in Scoring and rebounding this season, was named to C-USA third team March 8. Leather, a junior, averaged 15.5 points per game while grabbing an average of 8.4 rebounds per game. Those numbers made him No. 10 in conference in scoring and No. 3 in rebounding.

Only three days after Leather was named to the C-USA third team, USF coach Robert McCullum announced that one of his assistant coaches would not return next season. Tommy Deffebaugh who came to Tampa with McCullum from Western Michigan will not have his contract renewed for next season. McCullum said that he was going to take a new approach with his staff.

Franks, Dawsey officially join USF football team

The USF football team officially announced the hiring of two assistant coaches Wednesday. Carl Franks and Lawrence Dawsey will head up the running backs and receivers respectively.

Franks, head coach at Duke from 1999 to 2003, spent 12 years of his coaching career with former Gators head coach Steve Spurrier. Dawsey also has ties to Florida. An All-American receiver for Florida State in 1990, Dawsey has played for four NFL teams, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dawsey has coaching experience at the high school level as well as being an assistant at the Saint Louis Rams training camp and a graduate assistant last season for the Bowl Championship Series national champions LSU Tigers.