The NCAA's search for a successor to its current president has begun with a search for the search firm to help identify the right candidates.

That step is part of a process to replace outgoing NCAA President Cedric W. Dempsey, who announced in January that he would leave when his term expires at the end of this year. Dempsey has been in the Association's top position since January 1994 when he became the NCAA's third executive director/president.

The firm of Baker-Parker and Associates has emerged from a pool of 23 firms contacted in March as the preliminary choice of the NCAA search committee, which is composed of NCAA Executive Committee members Bob Lawless, president of the University of Tulsa; Brit Kirwan, president of Ohio State University; Patricia Cormier, president of Longwood College; and Bette Landman, president of Arcadia University.

Baker-Parker and Associates was selected from five finalists. The others were Spencer Stuart Sports Business, Alden-Perry Athletics Search, Witt/Kieffer and DHR International. Requests for proposals were sent in March, and the NCAA search committee narrowed the field after conducting various interviews.

The final choice still must be approved by the full Executive Committee, which meets April 26 in Indianapolis, but the NCAA search committee wanted to have at least a preliminary selection so that important groundwork could be completed before the April meeting.

Part of that groundwork includes development of a job description, something that also will be finalized by the Executive Committee later this month. Baker-Parker and Associates also will conduct interviews with various membership constituencies to determine expectations from the NCAA's top leadership position.

Lawless, who chairs the Executive Committee, said the search firm will be important because it can identify candidates who might not come forward otherwise, or who might not be able to be forthcoming about their interest in the position because of their current employment status.

"The advantage of using a firm is that they can identify potential candidates that might never apply because of their own particular situation," Lawless said. "It's like many university presidential searches. Firms can be that third-party intermediary that can discover expressions of interest that we might not be able to find otherwise."

Baker-Parker and Associates was founded in 1982 and has assisted in several university presidential searches, including those at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, North Carolina State University, the University of Georgia, the University of Akron, the University of Michigan, and Longwood College.

The firm also has demonstrated success in identifying -- and placing -- qualified female and minority candidates for high-profile positions at institutions such as Princeton University, Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins University, Akron, Georgia, Longwood and North Carolina State.

Lawless said that while there will be several opportunities for input on the qualifications of Dempsey's successor, at a minimum the Association will seek an individual who has a "passion for intercollegiate athletics."

"We're looking for an individual with administrative and athletics experience who has that passion, and a record of accomplishments to provide the leadership necessary to confront the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities of the future," Lawless said.

Baker-Parker and Associates will be responsible for working with the NCAA search committee to identify about 10 to 15 qualified candidates that reflect a diversified pool. At that point, background checks and screening interviews will be conducted to narrow the field down to six to 10 individuals who will be interviewed in person for the position.

Though there is no specific timeline for naming Dempsey's successor, the Executive Committee has indicated it wants to be close to a final decision by the time it meets in November.