Feb. 12--Illinois' lengthy athletic director search apparently isn't wrapping up just yet.
Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson said Thursday the school aims to hire a new AD by the end of February, according to the Associated Press. Mike Thomas was fired Nov. 9.
Wilson previously had said she hoped to make a hire before a late January board of trustees meeting. She and a search committee interviewed seven candidates last week in Indianapolis, and sources told the Tribune three of them are no longer in the running.
Wilson's latest comment seems to indicate the search is still ongoing.
According to the AP, Wilson made the statement Thursday after talking to Champaign business leaders about the status of the state budget and university issues.
Thomas was fired in the wake of a university-hired law firm's investigation into allegations of player mistreatment on the football team and a lawsuit by former women's basketball players alleging racial discrimination. Thomas had fired football coach Tim Beckman a week before the season.
