CSU's Parker among names mentioned in Michigan AD search

CSU athletic director Joe Parker said Wednesday he likes the job he has and wasn’t sure what he would do if Michigan approached him about becoming its athletic director.

Parker, a former All-American swimmer and athletic administrator at Michigan, was linked to the job in a story published online Wednesday by the Detroit News that listed four potential candidates to become Michigan’s new AD. Jim Hackett, the interim AD at Michigan for the past 13 months, is stepping down and will not be a candidate for the job on a permanent basis, university President Mark Schlissel told the newspaper.

Parker, 50, said he has not been contacted by anyone at Michigan and no one has had discussions with the Big Ten Conference school on his behalf.

“I love what I’m doing here,” Parker said. “We’ve been here eight months and just completely believe in Colorado State and the direction of the university and the position of intercollegiate athletics and what the university is trying to create overall.

“This community is phenomenal.”

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Parker said his name has been linked to the Michigan job before, so he’s not surprised it came up again. He’s not sure, he said, whether it’s a job he’d be interested in or not at this point in his career.

“It’s hard to deal in hypotheticals,” he said. “I’ve got a job right now that I’m committed to, and I’m working hard to serve CSU. … I really appreciate the working relationship I have with university leadership here, and I don’t know university leadership there.”

The other candidates mentioned for the Michigan job were Connecticut AD Warde Manuel, Boston College AD Brad Bates and Arkansas AD Jeff Long, who also chairs the College Football Playoff Committee.

Parker worked as an associate AD in charge of fundraising from 2003-06 at Michigan and from 2006-2011 a senior associate AD for corporate relations and development. He also has worked in the athletic departments at Washington State, Oklahoma, Texas and most recently Texas Tech, where he served as deputy athletic director for four years.

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news