Unclear selection process yields new head coach

sports@dailylobo.com

The UNM swimming and diving team has found a replacement for seven-year head coach Tracy Ljone, but some details of the hiring process remain unclear.

Kunio Kono was picked to replace Ljone and will be officially employed by the University on July 11.

The committee that selected Kono was composed of Senior Associate Athletics Director Tim Cass, a member of the marketing department and a former swimming and diving coach.

The typical process for hiring new head coaches involves conducting a series of interviews with candidates. The committee then deliberates and decides who to select, Cass said.

However, Cass said he has never met Kono. When asked why Kono was chosen over the other candidates, he said he was unsure, and that Kurt Esser, senior associate Athletics director of external affairs, was better suited to answer that question because Esser, not Cass, hired Kono.

Cass also wouldn’t disclose who the other candidates were.
“There’s certainly a gut feeling you get to when it comes to who is the right fit,” Cass said. “You dig into their background as much as you can to figure out if this is going to be the right person at the right time.”

Kono was the former associate head coach at UNLV, where his team took seven men’s MWC championships. Ljone never finished higher than sixth in the conference.

Kono was not recruited to the position, but rather heard about it through another coach in the MWC.

“Actually, I have a friend who coaches at San Diego State that told me about the job and told me I should apply for it,” Kono said.

The Athletics Department and Kono have not officially agreed on a salary, but it is estimated that he will make between $50,000 and $70,000 a year.

Cass said a coach’s salary depends on how much money the sport generates and how much money other schools are paying their coaches.

“All our salaries are market-driven,” Cass said. “We know what Texas Tech is paying their swim coach. We know what UNLV is paying their swim coach. We know we have to be competitive in that market to get the best coaches.”