BRYAN, TX -- It appears that the search for Texas A&M's next Athletic Director is nearing the negotiating phase.
The University System Board of Regents will hold a special teleconference meeting on Friday afternoon.
One of the actions to be voted on at that time is to give authorization to University President Dr. R. Bowen Loftin to identify a candidate, negotiate, and execute an employment agreement with Bill Byrne's successor.
News 3 Sports talked to A&M University Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jason Cook who is co-chairing the search committee and while he wouldn't say how many finalist the committee has identified, and wouldn't speculate as to when a new Athletic Director would be hired, but did say the university is "very close to the finish line and that they will meet the charge of having a new A-D on campus by August 1st".