FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas Athletic Director Frank Broyles said he has, in effect, offered the basketball job to his No. 1 candidate even though he had not spoken to him.

Arkansas also is willing to pay “the competitive rate” for a quality coach even it means he would make more than the football coach, Houston Nutt, for the time being, Broyles said Tuesday.

The leading candidate is strongly believed to be Texas A&M Coach Billy Gillispie.

Broyles said he contacted Nebraska Coach Doc Sadler, a UA grad and Greenwood native, to ask for recommendations on Monday after firing Stan Heath. Sadler and Gillispie have described themselves as best friends and have said they talk to each other two or three times every day.

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Broyles would not divulge his short list and said his leading candidate had not called back as of Tuesday night.

“We could have a quick announcement or it could fall through,” Broyles said. “I’ve offered the job and we’re waiting to hear.”

Reminded that he’d said he had not talked to a candidate yet, Broyles said, “I have not talked to a single coach, but the one I’m trying to get knows I want him to have the job.”

The coach knows Broyles wants him “through channels,” Broyles said.

Several sources said that Gillispie and Texas A&M Athletic Director Bill Byrne had not returned Broyles’ calls.

Byrne was asked if anyone at Arkansas had contacted him, and he said he would have no comment “until we’re ready to say something.”

Gillispie’s situation isn’t as simple as weighing Arkansas ’ offer.

Gillispie, 47, is also believed to be high on Kentucky’s list, but the school is waiting to hear whether Florida Coach Billy Donovan is interested. Donovan is wrapped up in preparing his team for the Final Four and is unlikely to consider anything else until the season ends.

Meanwhile, the Texas A&M board of regents is scheduled to meet Thursday, and item No. 39 on the 43-item agenda is to amend Gillispie’s contract. A raise has been in the works for some time that is expected to bump his compensation from $ 1. 3 million to about $ 1. 6 million.

Now that other schools are interested in Gillispie, it’s possible that Texas A&M could increase the raise and wants Gillispie to know that before he entertains other offers.

Gillispie has performed quick turnarounds at Texas El-Paso and Texas A&M. The Aggies went 7-21 overall and 0-16 in the Big 12 before he arrived three years ago. They’ve since been to the NIT, the NCAA Tournament’s second round and the Sweet 16 this year.

About 150 people attended a “Keep Billy Gillispie” rally outside his campus office Tuesday afternoon. Gillispie was in his office part of the day but did not attend the rally.

Gillispie has not commented on Arkansas or Kentucky. Last year, North Carolina State and Indiana showed interest, and Gillispie never addressed those situations publicly, not even to say he had declined to pursue them.

How much longer Broyles will wait before moving on to other candidates is unclear.

“We want to hire somebody as quick as we can,” Broyles said.

Another day or two ?

“You play each one as a separate case,” he said.

Broyles said he is considering going to the Final Four this weekend to pursue coaches if his leading candidate falls through. Nearly every major college coach attends the event.

Other coaches believed to be on Broyles’ wish list are Kansas’ Bill Self, Southern California’s Tim Floyd and Marquette’s Tom Crean.

Money should not be an issue in attracting a coach, Broyles said.

“I think we can meet the competitive rate, whatever the marketplace requires,” he said. “We’re going to meet the marketplace is all I’ll say.”

Several of the country’s top coaches would command salaries above what Arkansas pays Nutt. Nutt is in the process of receiving a raise that would bring his total compensation, counting deferred money, to roughly $ 1. 5 million a year.

The football program brings in about two-thirds of the athletic department’s revenue. Basketball brings in about 25 percent but is capable of doing more with renewed fan interest.

Arkansas paid former basketball coach Nolan Richardson more than it than it paid football coach Danny Ford and more than it initially paid Nutt in the 1990 s. Richardson had won a national championship for the Razorbacks, and the others had not.

There long has been a perception that a school that values football as much as Arkansas would not pay the basketball coach more than the football coach. But Broyles wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Nutt could end up being the No. 2 wage earner.

“Whatever the marketplace is,” Broyles said. “We’re not going to let salary stop us from getting the man we want.”