Even though he’s a state of Washington kind of guy, Bill Moos isn’t going to Seattle.
The Oregon athletic director announced Tuesday he is not a candidate for a similar position at Washington. He became the third person in recent weeks, and second this week, to turn down an opportunity for the position that has been left open since Barbara Hedges announced her retirement in January.
“I had told our fans and people in January when the Washington athletic director’s position opened up that I wanted to take a look at it, primarily because of personal reasons,” he said. “Washington is my home state, I have family and friends up there. It’s the only job I’ve looked at since I’ve been at Oregon.
“I took a look at it and confirmed what I thought I would feel — that is that Oregon, for Bill Moos, is a far better situation.”
Moos was considered one of the prime candidates for the position, since he is a native of Eastern Washington and served as an assistant athletics director at Washington State from 1982-88 and its associate director from 1988-90. He became Oregon’s athletic director in 1995 after a stint with Montana.
Now, Moos is set to extend his contract with Oregon, which expires June 30, for another three or four years. He has discussed that option with Oregon president Dave Frohnmayer and vice president for administration Dan Williams since last fall.
“We had conversations about that, came to an agreement, and I told both of them that in the event I got deep into the Washington search, that I was not going to use that as leverage in any way,” Moos said. “I don’t believe in doing that. I’ve been taken care of very well. I love it here.”
Moos acknowledged the problems Washington has been involved with in the last year, including the firing of two head coaches — football’s Rick Neuheisel and softball’s Teresa Wilson — for various alleged indecencies. Moos called the Washington job one wrought with “challenges,” but that Oregon has plenty of room to grow as well.
Growth includes the new basketball arena, which has been suspended indefinitely since February. Moos hopes to see that project pushed to the forefront soon.
“Certainly, the new basketball arena is on the front burner on my mind of items that I would like to see accomplished during my time at Oregon,” he said.
Moos’ announcement leaves the Huskies with a dwindling list of potential candidates for the position.
Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart became the first potential candidate to say he won’t be coming to Seattle. Barnhart, the former athletic director at Oregon State, recently told the Louisville Courier-Journal that “I’m not interested in going to any other position.”
Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood became the second to dismiss rumors. He told the Arizona Daily Star on Sunday he won’t “go through the interview process with (Washington). I’ll say this — the person Washington hires is going to get that football program going again. It’s going to be a big factor in this league again.”
Three prime candidates still rumored to be up for the position include Utah’s Chris Hill, Texas El-Paso’s Bob Stull and Ohio State’s Andy Geiger.
Washington search committee member Michael Eisenberg told The Seattle Times on May 13 that no one has officially interviewed for the job.