I don't want to have an interim [athletic director]. I want to be able to move from Jim to the new person.

If he's ready to retire, then it's time for him to retire. Change in leadership is always an ongoing part of any institution.

He's the AD. He's not a lame duck, and he will make all of the decisions necessary.

I've been a university president now for about 20 years and I have never found any relationship between alumni giving to academic programs and the success of the athletic program. Most senior fundraisers understand that raising money for the academic program is not going to be affected by that. They may be able to build a bigger stadium or put new seats in the gym, but it is not going to put more endowed chairs in their faculty.

As a graduate of both our undergraduate program and our school of law, she brings honor to SMU through this nomination and through her distinguished legal career,

Jim and I have formed a great relationship. When the time is right for Jim to move on, then we'll have that discussion. Of course he's thought about retirement. That's something most people do when they get to a certain stage of their careers.