The University of Houston has narrowed its search for a new athletic director to two finalists.
The finalists are Ryan Alpert, deputy athletic director at Tennessee, and Eddie Nunez, athletic director at New Mexico, as confirmed by a source close to the search on Friday.
A third candidate, David Fletcher, general manager of Lone Star Sports & Entertainment, was informed on Thursday that he is no longer in the running, according to another source.
The Houston Chronicle first reported earlier this week that Nunez and Alpert had emerged as the leading candidates to succeed Chris Pezman, who was dismissed in late June after six years in the role.
Nunez, a former basketball player at Florida, has been with New Mexico for seven years. Prior to that, he spent 14 years in various positions at LSU.
Alpert brings extensive fundraising and operations expertise from the SEC, serving as Tennessee’s deputy athletic director and chief operating officer since 2021.
He has overseen significant projects worth over $500 million, including a $337 million renovation of Neyland Stadium, and has contributed to achieving a record revenue of $202 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
He was also a finalist for the athletic director position at Memphis recently.
An official announcement may be made as soon as next week.
Paper City Houston was the first to report that the search has been narrowed down to two finalists.
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