Southeast Missouri State University is closer to finding a new athletics director after receiving final recommendations from Parker Executive Search on Friday.

The university hired Parker, a search firm based in Atlanta, to find suitable candidates for the position. Southeast's athletics director search committee also met with Parker representatives on Monday to discuss the candidates.

According to Southeast's vice president for finance and management Kathy Mangels, the university has received 64 applications and wants to make a hire by the end of April. The next step for Southeast is to conduct interviews in St. Louis to narrow the number of candidates down to two or three. The eight-person search committee, headed by Mangels, will conduct the interviews.

"You want to understand why they think this is a good career move for them," Mangels said. "Are they maybe at an associate AD level and this a next step for them, or are they at a smaller school and this is a step up? We need to understand why they think this is a good fit for their career path."

The search committee is comprised of Regent Jim Limbaugh, community supporters Janet Esicar and Al Spradling, assistant professor of sport management Dr. Beth Easter, treasury accountant Lynda Seabaugh and student-athletes Brittany Harriel and Joel Krause.

Mangels said the committee is looking for someone who can take Southeast athletics to the "next level."

Unlike when the university sought to replace fired athletics director Don Kaverman in 2008, the school is not facing potential NCAA sanctions, which has meant there is less pressure to quickly find a replacement.

Southeast's men's and women's basketball programs were later found to have violated NCAA rules. The university was initially put on two years of probation in 2008 after violations by the women's program were discovered. An additional three years were added after the men's program violated NCAA rules. The probationary period will expire on June 17, 2013 .

"Winning in sports is important to people, and you want to be competitive," Mangels said. "[But] it's not about necessarily being the first in every sport.

"It's [also] in terms of recognition, that you have a program that is recognized by other schools [and] that is competitive and well-run. It's in terms of community and alumni support to take it to the next level, that we have student-athletes that are recognized for academic achievement out in the community, but also on the field."

Former associate athletics director Cindy Gannon has been filling in as interim athletics director since Shafer's retirement. Gannon also took over on an interim basis in 2008.

It has taken nine months so far to fill the position. Mangels said this is due to Gannon's experience and that university is not under pressure to find an immediate replacement.

"Part of any department, whether it's athletics or anything else, you try to think of succession and planning and having those people in place at the level," Mangels said. "Cindy Gannon has done a great job during this interim period and not just sitting back and saying 'Well, we'll kind of just float along until we have a permanent AD,' by understanding that you have to keep the program moving and try to keep it moving forward and moving up, and she's done a great job of that. I think in every department you try to have those people who you're getting ready and who can take on that position like Cindy has."