LITTLE ROCK, ARK. ? Arkansas has 25-30 candidates to replace Nolan Richardson, but a black state Appeals Court judge said Saturday the school could have a hard time finding a new basketball coach.

Arkansas said Friday it was buying out Richardson after he refused to resign following a week in which he criticized fans and reporters and said he was treated differently because he is black.

Court of Appeals Judge Wendell Griffen said the university relied on a no-excuse-necessary clause in the coach’s seven-year, $7 million-plus contract because it had no cause to replace him.

“Nolan Richardson isn’t being fired because he threw a chair or tried to choke a player or stole some money. He’s not being fired because he has engaged in some kind of NCAA impropriety,” Griffen said. “He’s basically being fired because folks basically don’t like how he came across, and he’s being fired after he apologized for it.”

Griffen, a black Arkansas graduate, is one of the court’s leading writers. Off the bench, the judge last month criticized Gov. Mike Huckabee for replacing the only black member of the university board of trustees with a white former aide. Huckabee then switched his choice to a black physician.

Chancellor John White said Richardson wasn’t replaced for his outspokenness.

“In no way was it an action based on him speaking his mind … more because of a feeling that a time had come for a change,” White said at Saturday’s Arkansas-Vanderbilt game, which the Razorbacks won 81-67.

Richardson did not attend the game, although there was an empty chair on the team bench for him.

White said one of his goals as chancellor was to create more diversity on campus. “I am very concerned that African-Americans in this state don’t think this is any way a step back in regard to that agenda,” White said.

About 16 percent of the state’s population is black, compared with about 6 percent of the campus population.

Athletic director Frank Broyles said Richardson assistant and interim head coach Mike Anderson was among the candidates who he would like to present to a search committee. He also hoped to attract someone who already is a head coach.

“I want somebody with a dynamic personality who can recruit and serve the university,” Broyles said.

White said he expected 10-12 people to serve on a search committee. “We have to get out of the box very quickly,” said White, who pointed out that other schools soon will be searching for a coach.

He described Anderson as a strong candidate.

Anderson called the shots during the Vanderbilt game.

“It has been my dream to become a head coach,” he said. “Under the circumstances, who knows what will happen. “If you’ve been in this business long enough, you know you can never tell.”

He said he would either call Richardson or go by and see him.

Arkansas players made Anderson a unanimous choice to succeed Richardson. Others mentioned as candidates have included Rod Barnes of Mississippi, Ben Braun of California, Tom Crean of Marquette, Dennis Felton of Western Kentucky, Kelvin Sampson of Oklahoma, Bill Self of Illinois, Porter Moser of Arkansas-Little Rock, and former NBA coaches Tim Floyd and Leonard Hamilton.