If you asked me to create a dream search committee for Maryland's AD spot, there would be a few no-brainers on it. Gary Williams, for instance. Ideally, there would be someone to represent football, although I don't think it could be either Ralph Friedgen or James Franklin, considering their lack of job security. There'd be the requisite administration people as well as a few high profile non-revenue coaches on it, too.

All in all, it'd look a lot like what the Maryland AD Search Committee looks like. The Committee, which was announced today, includes Gary Williams, Len Elmore, Kevin Plank, Brenda Frese, and Sasho Cirovski, along with a variety of other notables.

The entire list of the comittee is below the jump.

Linda M. Clement, Chair
Vice President for Student Affairs

Sasho Cirovski
Head Coach, Men's Soccer

Leonard J. Elmore, Esq.
CEO, iHoops

Brenda S. Frese
Head Coach, Women's Basketball

Edwin F. Gregory
President, M-Club

Nicholas J. Hadley
Professor, Department of Physics
Vice Chair, Athletic Council

James F. Harris
Professor and Dean, College of Arts and Humanities

Cheryl K. Harrison
Associate Director of Athletics/Development

Missy Meharg
Head Coach, Women's Field Hockey

Danita R. Nias
Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations and Development

Kevin A. Plank
CEO, Under Armour, Inc.

Rosalie Reggettz
President, Terrapin Club

Lisa Scott
Student-Athlete, Volleyball

Saul Sosnowski
Professor and Associate Provost for International Affairs

Lee Thornton
Eaton Chair, Philip Merrill College of Journalism
Incoming Interim Provost for Equity and Diversity

Charles F. Wellford
Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Chair, Athletic Council

Gary B. Williams
Head Coach, Men's Basketball

All in all, this is what it should look like. It seems an obvious step to take, but it's an important one to not mess up. And on face, it seems successfully conquered.

Gary was a must and I'm happy to see him there. Kevin Plank was a pleasant surprise that will make sure that the new AD will aggressively facilitate basketball and (particularly) football success. The M-Club, Terrapin Club and required Councils and Committees are well-represented. And as much as people make jokes about it, I'm happy to see Brenda Frese, Sasho Cirovski, and Missy Meharg on the committee. They've seen extreme success, and deserve a voice in the process. Maybe a quieter one than, oh, Gary, but one nonetheless.

By the way, Elmore seems absolutely perfect for this. He's the CEO of iHoops with administrative experience, and there aren't a lot of smarter people that are connected both to sports and the University of Maryland.

Of course, so much of the success of the process will depend on the adequacy of the people we don't know about and haven't heard of so much, so calling it a success - which I've already done, I'm sad to say - might be premature. Regardless, the first step has been taken, and it seems to have been taken well enough.