In a collegiate athletics environment in which there are too many bad examples of how to go about hiring a high-profile coach, the University of Indianapolis provided a good one.

The Greyhounds athletics department followed campus hiring procedures when it went looking to replace head men’s basketball coach Royce Waltman, who served on an interim basis in 2007-08 after Todd Sturgeon resigned in October. Though the whole process took about a month – considered too long perhaps by some who hire the wrong way – Indy used a diverse search committee to get its man from an inclusive applicant and finalist pool.

That man is Stan Gouard, an African-American who served as an assistant at Indiana State for three years after being on the Greyhounds staff for three seasons.

While some schools hire coaches during a weekend – a practice many athletics departments perceive as uniquely necessary to retain recruits and pacify anxious boards, boosters and fans – Indianapolis stuck to its campus hiring model, which organizations such as the NCAA and the Black Coaches and Administrators have advocated to ensure equity.

Indianapolis President Beverley Pitts said she and other campus leaders understand the urgency in a coaching hire, but she believes it is possible to conduct a thorough search without compromising quality.

“We ended up with a great young coach with a search process that took four weeks,” she said. “We used a process that included not only recommendations from other coaches around the country, but also wide advertising, a number of phone interviews and campus visits.”

For the basketball hire, Indy brought seven candidates to campus, two of whom were minorities.

“Diversity in a pool will be much more likely if there are multiple opportunities to get names forward. The goal is always to give as many candidates as possible, including minority candidates, an equal chance as a candidate,” Pitts said.

Athletics Director Sue Willey said her department adheres to the same protocol that other campus units do for hiring staff or faculty.

“It’s not a Sue Willey decision, but an institution decision,” she said. “We take time with all our searches. Some schools choose successors behind closed doors in a matter of days. We don’t feel we’re at risk with taking more time than that. None of our candidates pulled out because they got other positions.”

Indy’s human resources department oversees all campus hiring. The preliminary paperwork is filed electronically, with checkpoints for diversity and inclusion every step of the way. Advertising also is key, Willey said, since campus officials can target audiences to garner a diverse applicant pool. In this case, she said, ads in The NCAA Market and on the BCA Web site delivered the goods.

“Selective advertising helps ensure the diversity of the pool. And if it was appearing that the finalists were not diverse, that would be a problem for me,” Willey said, noting that HR also would balk at a non-diverse pool.

Pitts said the coaching network is a good way to learn of strong candidates, too.

“It should always be used,” she said, “but supplementing the network can bring additional candidates forward even with a tight schedule. The goal should always be to cast the widest net so minority candidates can have the opportunity to be competitive.”

She said it can be argued, in fact, that the network expedites the process and gets a coach on board within a few weeks.

“The more thorough search process, in tandem with the coaches’ network, can be expedited as well, if a school is committed to both speed and thoroughness. I think we did that,” Pitts said.

Both she and Willey are thrilled with Gouard, who was a two-time national player of the year at Southern Indiana.

“Stan Gouard is a team player within the department. He is a player’s coach, a great communicator, recruiter and community person,” Willey said. “He’s simply a presence in any group.”

And best of all, he was hired the right way.