The selection process for West Point's next Director of Athletics won't pick up speed until after the Navy game. As the search committee continues to determine candidates there seems little doubt as to the criteria of the man who will replace Kevin Anderson.

As to anyone commenting on potential candidates, including those who have applied or plan on it, understandably no one's talking.

Anderson left this fall for the University of Maryland, just a few months from completing his sixth year.

Although his in-season departure was unusual in this business, few seemed surprised - especially since it was public knowledge that he had applied for the AD job at Miami a couple of years ago.

This time West Point definitely wants someone who will not be using the appointment as a stepping stone. And it seems quite apparent that the next hire will have West Point ties.

Army has had four full-time ADs over the past 30+ years: Richard Greenspan (1999-2004); Col. Albert Vanderbush, USA Retired (1990-99); Carl F. Ulrich (1980-1999); MG Raymond P. Murphy, USA Retired (1977-80). Two others served as interim AD for a period of four months, while current interim Col. Sam Johnson has kept the seat warm since Oct. 1.

We received only a few phone calls after reaching out to several "logical'' candidates.

Of those who spoke off the record, one is a former Army football player now in the public sector, one is closely associated to the athletic department, while the other is a high-ranking administrator at West Point who is quite familiar with the athletic department.

The criteria and so-called ideal candidate were described by all three in similar fashion. "There's a certain skill set required and gained by having done this job somewhere else,'' said a source who has been close to the department for years. "This is not an entry-level position. You have had to encounter the challenge of doing this job. You're talking marketing, donor relations, NCAA interaction, scheduling. There could be a commander or an officer who could do the job, who might have leadership skills, and might do OK after a year or two, but we can't afford to take that year or two break while they're getting their feet on the ground.''

What are the most critical requirements?

- High-ranking officer and a graduate of West Point

"Integrity is first and foremost,'' he said. "Second is affiliation with the Academy and the Army, though not necessarily a graduate. But somebody who's been here and knows the players, the central elements of information, who knows who the key influences are and knows what the academy is all about.

"And also know about the Army, because a large part of our money is from the Army, and also understand that you have to interact with those 'green suits.' You also want someone who has done an AD job before and preferably at more than one school, who has seen some of the problems and solutions that we need. There are a lot of moving parts.''

And, he said, lots of different colors of money.

"We receive appropriated funds the government gives us, non-appropriated funds that we have to earn, we have donor funds with different rules on what it can be spent for, and you also have to be familiar with where to go to get more these different kids of funds.''

And that's not all. "This person will have to be someone who understands the military chain of command, who's in approval authority for different items and where to go when you need issues solved. Do you go to JAG (Judge Advocate General), the boss, the superintendent or above his head to the secretary of the Army level? All that is hard to put into a book where you can just flip it open.''

The candidate must also be a people person. "We have such a mixture of personalities and sources. You have military people, long-term government civilian contracts, and coaches of every ilk and mind set.''

The source noted that someone who has only been an assistant AD could qualify, "As long as he's been involved in critical elements. He doesn't have to be a sitting AD.''

According to an extremely high-ranking officer and a graduate of West Point, football coach Rich Ellerson is a perfect example of someone being wired to succeed at the Academy.

Not only is his father and two brothers graduates of West Point and career officers, but one of his brothers played football there and was captain of the 1962 team.

"The success you're seeing in Army football is what Ellerson is all about,'' he offered. "His background and deep appreciation of the customs and tradition of West Point, that's why he's making a difference. He's a smart guy too, he understands the triple option and can recruit people to run it, but if he could do all that but not speak the language, I don't think he'd have the impact he's had here.

"In the eyes of leadership of West Point, he's the next coming of - I would say Red Blaik. As a Colonel he had credibility and people respected that. And so when (Blaik) came in he said, "I'm telling you guys we need to accept risk with this,' or, 'We need to allow our Cadets to have 15 minutes free time here…' So the officers would say, 'You know what Blaik - or Ellerson - you're switched on,' or, "You're the man; you understand the military. You served or you understand the ethos of service and I agree.'

"Ellerson doesn't want his football players separate from the Corps. It is what he professes and you've seen it. Touchdowns help and wins help even more, and you're seeing a change in attitude after 14 years of being beat down.''

The highly-decorated source feels that it is unfortunate that this team isn't 7-0, adding, "They should be sitting 5-2 if not 6-1 at the minimum.

"But this is his first recruiting class and his best is at the prep school right now. They're dynamite. And (Ellerson) doesn't take any crap. And he doesn't take anything for granted. He asks the right questions. "Is this right? Is this proper?' That's a great open communication. Most of the coaches are good that way. Not all, but most.''

Anderson, the source believes, never became comfortable in the military environment, suggesting that if you're "not one of them'' you can feel it.

"The ODIA (Office of the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics) was not his mantra,'' he said. "He was a smart guy, he was a good disciplinarian, and we were good friends, but I didn't feel he was comfortable with the military piece. When he interviewed at Miami just before his contract extension, everybody here believed it was just a matter of time.''

The names are out there, and here are a handful of some of the most likely candidates:

• Tom Cafaro, currently Vice President of Nichols College in Massachusetts. A two-time All-America lacrosse player at West Point, he is a 1971 grad and a member of the USMA Athletic Hall of Fame. He previously was AD at Nichols for 11 years.

• Col. Craig Flowers, Director of Cadet Activities at the Point. Although not a West Point graduate, his father was stationed at West Point for more than 25 years. Flowers has been stationed at the Academy for about 10 years.

• Col. Jim Knowlton served as Army's Interim AD from mid-September of 2004 to mid-January of '05. He has been the Director of Athletics at Rensselaer Institute the past three years. A 1982 West Point grad, he was a four-year letter winner and captain of the varsity hockey team. He held several positions of leadership at West Point for more than 20 years.

• Dennis Helsel, fifth year as AD at Chowan University in North Carolina. USMA, 1969. Viet Nam vet who returned to West Point to coach lightweight football and who became the first varsity softball coach there. Has held several titles in athletic departments at Penn State, Old Dominion, Syracuse, Maryland, and was also AD at Akron.

• John Simar, Director of Athletics at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. He played varsity football four years and lettered his final two. The 1972 West Point grad also coached football at Army for 16 years.

Simar, Helsel and Knowlton all applied for the AD job at West Point six years ago.

According to a football player who was at the Academy more than 30 years ago, there is a relatively simple reason why the football program has not produced a winner since 1996, why it has won the Commander and Chief's Trophy outright only once since 1988, and why the men's basketball program has lost more than it's won over the past 30 years.

"If you take 10 athletes who want to go to an academy, and they visit all three, six will choose the Air Force, three will choose the Navy and one the Army,'' he believes.

"If you're a 17-year-old kid it all depends on what appeals to you. When I was 16-17 what I thought was neat was that Navy wore white hats. So maybe I wanna go to Navy. What appeals to a 17-year-old? 'Man, those jets are really neat. I don't have to ever get dirty. I can fly that thing, I can get flight pay, I can be the coolest guy with my ascot and goggles. There's no one cooler than me.'

"And then you look at the Navy side of things and I think of the same things, really. 'I don't want to slog in the mud and lead troops directly into combat. I'll be on the ocean in a nice, clean environment with air-conditioning and heat,' etcetera, etcetera.

"The kind of kind of person I think that wants to go to West Point is someone who wants to be a leader of soldiers, who really wants to be the best of the best. When you look at the three academies,'' he said, "West Point offers the biggest challenge in leadership training. The daily life is probably more rigorous. So again, a 17-year-old is thinking, 'I want to go to an academy, but let's not go overboard here. I think I'll go to one that's a little less stringent.''

As for developing successful athletes, he feels strongly about implementing the, ''West Point system,'' which instills mental toughness, dedication and team work, a foundation on which to build an athletic program.

"If you fight the system, if you fight the difficult academic demands, if you fight the daily schedule, then you will never be successful as a coach there. The biggest trap for any coach up there is feeling sorry for the Cadet. If you say, "Oh my God how do they do it' as soon as you back off you're dead. We had a coach who showed no mercy, and Penn State, Notre Dame and Syracuse won't show you any mercy on Saturday afternoons. In a nutshell, that's what it took.''

In a nutshell, that is also what the next AD must have: discipline, direction, leadership, and immeasurable understanding of the daily life of a Cadet and the complex workings of the Academy

For one who has been there as a young man, as well as from his experiences in the military, the former football player/coach will always believe that the best man for this job is an Army man.

"I've worked with all the branches of the service,'' he said, "and the most honorable, the most hard-nosed and the most straight-arrowed is the Army. The Navy and Air Force, they tend to do their own thing. We're the team players.''

At West Point, all they need now is someone to lead them.