FAYETTEVILLE — Jeff Long, the University of Pittsburgh’s athletic director since May 2003, has emerged as a leading candidate for the same position at Arkansas.

Long flew to Fayetteville on Friday to interview for Arkansas ’ athletic director’s job, according to a report on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Web site.

Long is among the three finalists for the Arkansas job, the Post-Gazette reported, citing unnamed sources.

Tulane Athletic Director Rick Dickson also is a candidate, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported this week.

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Arkansas’ private jet was spotted at Allegheny County Airport on Friday afternoon by a reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, presumably after returning Long to Pittsburgh.

Long is in the final year of his contract, according to the Post-Gazette, and a deal has not been reached on an extension, though he negotiated with Pittsburgh earlier this year.

Frank Broyles, the Razorbacks’ athletic director since 1973 and head football coach from 1958-1976, announced in February that he was retiring effective Dec. 31, 2007, after completing 50 years at Arkansas.

After Broyles’ retirement announcement, Arkansas Chancellor John White said he personally would handle the search “to maintain the confidentiality of the process” and consult with Alan Sugg, president of the UA system, and Stanley Reed, the board of trustees chairman. White has said he believes it’s important that he deal with candidates directly rather than the search involving a committee. Long is a native of Kettering, Ohio, and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Long came to Pittsburgh from Oklahoma, where he was an

asso-1 ciate athletic director for 2 / 2 years. At Oklahoma, his duties included overseeing development, marketing and promotions, licensing, media relations, ticket operations and radio and television productions.

Before being at Oklahoma, Long was athletic director for two years at Eastern Kentucky, which is in the Ohio Valley Conference. Long’s resume also includes stops as an associate athletic director at Virginia Tech and Michigan, and football coaching and administrative positions at Rice, Duke and North Carolina State.

In 1983, he earned a master’s degree in education from Miami (Ohio ) University after serving as a graduate assistant football coach.

Clemson Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips, a former Arkansas player and administrator, released a statement last month announcing he is not a candidate to be the Razorbacks’ next athletic director.