ATHENS — University of Georgia president Michael Adams said he had no timetable in hiring an athletics director in a news conference Tuesday.

He also indicated he wasn’t sure if he’ll seek the help of an executive search firm while associate athletics director Frank Crumley acts as interim AD.

Opting to begin the search at the local level, Adams announced a committee, comprised of UGA officials, adding he has compiled a large network of connections in his time as president that should pay off in finding potential candidates.

In total, there are six members on the committee, including swim coach Jack Bauerle, vice president of external affairs Tom Landrum and assistant athletics director Carla Williams.

“The members of this committee have strong ties to this place and a deep understanding of its history and it’s culture,” Adams said. “I asked them to move expeditiously on this important task. It’s a very small search committee designed to act in an expeditious fashion.”

David Shipley will head the search committee appointed by Adams. Shipley, a former Dean of Georgia’s school of law, is now the faculty athletics representative and has also served as the university council representative to the athletic board.

“We’ll gather as a committee and talk about logistics,” Shipley said. “We’ll find out what sort of administrative support we’re going to have, talk with the (human resource) people about job description, the advertising — things like that. I suppose once we get it all out there I agree with what the president said; we ought to have a superb pool of candidates.”

Shipley also served as a dean at Kentucky and Mississippi.

“He will do an excellent job of leading this committee,” Adams said.

Although Adams used the term expeditiously and said he’d like to fill the position as soon as possible, he tempered expectations of a quick ending by saying the search could last six to 12 months.

Shipley said a hasty ending is an unrealistic goal.

“I’ve got enough on my plate — you know I’d like to take a summer vacation myself,” he said. “Classes start the middle of August. I think the president said most of the people who we’re going to be interested in are in good jobs right now. So it’s not as if somebody could pick up and leave in the middle of the semester. So realistically I suppose is, what, (the first of 2011)? I suppose that would be nice but that might be optimistic.”

Swann Seiler, the current president of the UGA alumni association, is also on the committee. Seiler graduated with a journalism degree from Georgia in 1978 and is a member of the prestigious family that owns and takes care of each famous English bulldog that serves as the university mascot.

“Swann Seiler is a member of a great Bulldog family to say the least,” Adams said.

Bauerle is the swim coach at Georgia, boasting multiple national titles.

“He is widely respected not just in his field, but by coaches of all sports and in 2008 was the head coach of the U.S. women’s swim team in Beijing Olympics,” Adams said.

Williams played basketball at Georgia under head coach Andy Landers. Williams currently is an associate athletics director and the senior woman administrator in the department.

“I think that things will continue to run as they have been and we’ll continue to work,” Williams said. “We have a great staff in place and we’ll continue to do the day-to-day work that it takes.”

Landrum currently is the senior vice president of external affairs. He is a long-time member of the Georgia administration having served four presidents in a number of capacities.

As an alumnus of the university Landrum has earned two degrees at Georgia.

“Tom brings a breath and depth of knowledge about both the University; it’s academics and it’s athletics to this committee,” Adams said.

The student representative of the committee is Robert Sinyard, who serves as the student representative on the board of the UGA athletic association.

He is the recipient of the Foundation Fellowship, the highest academic scholarship awarded to Georgia students.

Adams stated he wants to look outside the program to make the hire, saying he is interested in candidates, “with a high level of experience in the business of athletics.”

Planning to work hand-in-hand with the committee, Adams boasted the Georgia AD job as, “one of the five or six best jobs in America.

“I will be working with the committee to find the person who can take the athletic program to the next level.”