The University is expected to announce the appointment of Tom Moe, a former partner in a major Minneapolis law firm, as interim men’s athletics director Dec. 6.
University President Mark Yudof met with Moe, a former Dorsey & Whitney managing partner, Thursday morning to discuss the possible appointment.
“I am very optimistic that he’ll be the one,” Yudof said. “I met with Tom today, and we’re having some discussions — there are some issues that have to be worked out — but I’m very hopeful that it will work out.”
Moe would not confirm if he had been named interim men’s athletics director and would not comment on any details discussed at the Morrill Hall meeting.
“We did reach a decision, and we each have some issues to further explore and discuss,” Moe said. “We will get back together in the next day or day and a half.”
Moe, 61, played Gophers football and basketball in the late 1950s. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1960.
“I have a very strong feeling about the University of Minnesota,” Moe said. “I have attended the school, participated in athletics and been very active over the years supporting a number of programs here. If there is something I can do to help out, yes, I am interested.”
Tonya Moten Brown, Yudof’s chief of staff, said the interim position will not be announced before Monday. Brown took control of athletics oversight Wednesday.
The University will conduct a national search for the new men’s athletics director in coming weeks. The new director would begin July 1.
Yudof said Moe’s interim position will probably not turn into a permanent position but did not rule out the possibility.
“I wanted to buy some time into someone the coaches would have confidence in and that I would have confidence in,” Yudof said.
Knowledge of law, auditing and marketing are important qualities in any athletics director, Yudof said.
“You need someone with very astute business skills,” he said. “Athletic experience is important, but you need someone who knows how to run the company.”
Yudof said coaches’ input will be very important in the national search for a men’s athletics director.
“For the permanent position, I think we should have coaches on the search committee,” Yudof said, adding that alumni, faculty and staff members will also be included in the search process.
Some had suggested appointing men’s baseball coach John Anderson as interim men’s athletics director, but Anderson said he was not interested in the spot.
“It seemed clear that Tom Moe was really the only candidate for the interim position,” Anderson said, adding his main priority rests with the baseball team.
In other men’s athletics news, Yudof said he might have to offer Gophers football coach Glen Mason a larger raise in light of offers from other football programs in the country.
Mason has been named a candidate for coaching positions at Michigan State University and Louisiana State University.

— Wire reports contributed to this article.

Megan Boldt welcomes comments at [email protected]. She can also be reached at (612) 627-4070 x3224.