Michigan basketball coach John Beilein defers athletic director questions to U-M President Mary Sue Coleman

ANN ARBOR - Michigan basketball coach John Beilein may be on the committee to select the next athletic director at the school, but he’s not going to talk about it.

When asked at his pre-Old Spice Classic press conference Tuesday, Beilein deferred all questions to school President Mary Sue Coleman, saying she will be the voice of the group.

Michigan head coach John Beilein shouts instructions from the sidelines to his players in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Houston Baptist.

AP photo

“That’s as far as I’m going to say about that committee,” Beilein said. “That’s an agreement that we all have on us addressing that.”

On Monday, Beilein was named to the committee along with executive vice president Timothy Slottow, managing director of the Life Science Institute, Liz Barry, faculty athletic representative Percy Bates and Teresa Sullivan, the executive vice president for academic affairs.

Jed Hughes, a former assistant coach for Michigan football and a headhunter for consulting firm Spencer Stuart is heading the process along with Coleman.

The committee is searching for a replacement for Bill Martin, who announced his retirement last month, effective in September, 2010.

At Big Ten media day last month, Beilein said he’d like to see the school hire an innovator who can build on what Martin has done.

He also said he’d want someone who will try to have Crisler Arena, the university’s aging basketball facility, renovated.

“You’d like somebody that said ‘OK, we’ve got that now. Let’s not stop it. We’ve got to continue to be leaders and the best in all those areas,’” Beilein said from Chicago last month. “And then he’s someone who is also going to stay up on the cutting edge of how, just like your bosses have to stay on the cutting edge, everything’s changing.

“By the minute, everything is changing. Someone who is ready to adapt.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.