Jon Najarian has intriguing candidate to be Gophers' next AD

Pete Najarian played linebacker for the Gophers from 1982 to 1985. He was an all-Big Ten second-teamer in his last three seasons.

Getting such a distinction as a sophomore in 1983 was quite an accomplishment, when you consider the Gophers as a unit had one of the worst defenses in the history of college football.

For instance: Najarian had a phenomenal tackling game as the '83 team was getting nudged 84-13 by Nebraska. The determination Najarian showed during that carnage in the Metrodome has been seen later in life as Pete, now 51, has built a career in the investment business.

Najarian would like to be the Gophers' new permanent (rather than interim) athletic director. I consider Pete a friend, so I'm not exactly objective on his candidacy. Neither is his brother Jon, who made the case in his brother's behalf in an e-mail sent to me this week.

By JON NAJARIAN

I know my brother Pete Najarian would be a great choice for the next Athletic Director of the University of Minnesota. Yes, Pete is a former football star for the University of Minnesota. He is in the hall of fame at the U of M and has won multiple awards for his academic and athletic accomplishments at the University of Minnesota.

I believe he is the only three time winner of the Carl Eller award for best defensive player for the Gophers. But those achievements alone are only a small fraction of the reasons I know he would be a great AD for the U of M.

Certainly a good number of Athletic Directors have been successful collegiate athletes, but Pete brings far more to the table than that. I've worked with Pete as my business partner since 1992 and in that time we've built trading firms that traded billions of dollars and managed hundreds of people across multiple states. This experience raising funds, managing people, setting budgets and achieving goals would be invaluable to the University of Minnesota.
When we sold our trading business in 2004 we immediately began building a team to help us create an online brokerage. Our firm won numerous industry accolades including best for options traders from Barron's for four years in a row.

We were able to accomplish this because Pete was both a tough negotiator and because of his ability to multi-task. We both had television contracts with CNBC, but Pete expanded his reach and that of our brand by signing on with ESPN and NBC Sports as well

His work with ESPN included monitoring and commenting on as many as 90 college football games on a single Saturday. If you can speak intelligently with insight about 180 disparate college football teams, coaches and programs, you can manage coaches, players and alumni relations at a prominent Big Ten institution of higher learning.

Also, Pete's daughter Alexis competes in Track & Field at another Big Ten school (Nebraska), so he is intimately aware of the support needed to keep a successful women's athletic program growing as well as the Title IX issues.

His rapport with coaches, athletes and alumni would be a fantastic boost for the University as it builds back to national prominence.

Yes, his vast army of fans on television would miss his daily presence and insights, but his ability to elevate the University through his passion for the University of Minnesota, fund-raising ability and media savvy make him the ideal candidate for Athletic Director.