The search for a new athletics director has been narrowed down to a group of three candidates.

The finalists are Paul Griffin, director of intercollegiate athletics for South Florida, David Martin, senior associate athletics director from Oklahoma State and Bruce Van De Velde, senior associate athletics director at Oklahoma.

“We felt these were very good people,” said James Melsa, dean of the engineering college

Melsa is the head of the 22-member search committee assigned to pick a new athletics director.

Melsa said they had a “strong pool of people” and although it wasn’t a “unanimous decision” by the members, they feel they “can pick a good AD out of these people.”

Melsa added that “based on credentials and references” the committee has picked a group that has excellent “accomplishments, leadership, and vision.”

Griffin has been the director of intercollegiate activities at South Florida since 1986. He has also worked at Jacksonville University in Florida as director of athletics and was AD at Roanoke College in Virginia.

Martin, an ISU grad and former athlete, has been at Oklahoma State since 1999. He served as the associate athletics director there from 1983-1998.

Martin was one of the founding members of the Big 12 Conference and served as the interim commissioner in 1998.

He said he is “excited” and “looking forward to being back on campus.”

Martin graduated from Iowa State in 1970. He was also a member of the wrestling team from 1967-70.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Martin said.

Being a member of the Big 12 Conference already, Martin said it “all fits.”

He said the Big 12 is a “young” conference and is a “big draw”

“Iowa State is a major player in the Big 12,” Martin explained. “I’m from Iowa. I went to school at Iowa [State]. It’s home.”

Van De Velde has been at Oklahoma since 1999. He was the AD at Utah State from 98-99 and was an associate athletics director at Missouri from 97-98.

He has also had positions at Kansas State, where he was the athletic director for football from 1992-97, assistant athletics director at Tulane from 91-92 and was the recruiting coordinator at Iowa from 1988-91.

Van De Velde is an Iowa State graduate, he received his B.S. in 1981.

“I’m pleased to be a finalist. I consider ISU an outstanding opportunity,” he said.

“I look forward to visiting the campus again.”

Van De Velde added that he was “very confident” in his skills as a leader.

He explained that having ties to the Big 12, the school and the state “make ISU very attractive to me.”

Despite the recent success of ISU basketball, both men’s and women’s and the gymnastics team, Van De Velde feels he can still “help the university achieve greater heights.”

Melsa said that although it is “interesting” that two of the finalists have ties to ISU and the Big 12, “it wasn’t in the criteria.”

The candidates are expected to be visiting the campus within the next week, with a possible announcement by the end of the month.