After the unexpected death of head football coach John Ware Sept. 27, Missouri Southern needed to find someone to lead the Lions.

Keeth Matheny, assistant head coach, filled in to finish the season.

Shortly after Ware’s death, Sallie Beard, athletics director, and Robert Corn, assistant athletics director, met with the administration.

“The decision was made to open it (the head coaching position) up,” Beard said.

She said the position was advertised on three Web sites, one being the NCAA’s Web site and two others specific to football.

“And then the process is that you begin to receive résumés, and those are reviewed individually by committee members,” Beard said.

After the committee reviews the applicants, the members meet and decide a list an applicants they are interested in. The committee will then try to do further research on each of the people on the list to narrow it down to a few candidates to bring in for an interview.

“At that same time, we’re still receiving more résumés so we’re constantly receiving them,” Beard said.

“We will continue to receive applications until we name a head coach.”

The position will remain open until that time.

Beard said 70-80 applications have been received, but she expects about 100 before a new coach is named.

Beard said the ad requires a bachelor’s degree and college coaching experience. A master’s degree, teaching experience or a degree relating to kinesiology are preferred.

Matheny said after the end of the football season he would not apply for the position.

“I would expect a new coach to come in, put in a new regime and continue the progress that Coach Ware had started,” Beard said.

Beard said she hopes a decision will made before the end of the semester.

“I don’t know that we can accomplish that,” she said. “I would like for the coach to be able to meet with the team before everybody scatters for the holiday.”

At the time of press, no announcement had been made regarding a new coach.