Baker University is moving steadily toward hiring a new football coach.

A search committee headed by BU athletic director Dan Harris met for several hours Tuesday night and identified six finalists for the vacancy.

“My goal is to begin interviews next week, name a new coach by the end of the week and have him in place by Jan. 5,” Harris said Wednesday.

The NAIA university in Baldwin is seeking a replacement for John Frangoulis, who resigned Nov. 17 after 11 years at the school, including the last eight as head coach.

Harris said he and his committee reviewed more than 50 applications.

“It’s been a nationwide search,” Harris said. “We’ve had applications from California, New York, Texas and even Canada. It’s amazing how news travels. Twelve hours after Frangoulis resigned, I had 18 applications on my desk.”

Now that the six finalists have been pinpointed, Harris said he would confer with school president Dan Lambert and determine how many of the candidates would be brought to campus for face-to-face interviews.

According to sources, one likely interviewee is Mike Gardner, a former BU linebacker who is now defensive coordinator at Tabor College in Hillsboro. Just last month, Gardner was tapped NAIA assistant coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Assn.

Gardner, who graduated from BU in 1990, has never been a head coach, but is regarded as a talented recruiter.

Patrick Ross, head coach at nearby Ottawa U. for the last two seasons, is also believed to be interested in the opening, but Ross may be feathering his nest. Ross guided the Braves to a 9-2 record and a berth in the NAIA playoffs this fall.

From 1980 through 1993, Baker was a frequent NAIA playoff qualifier under coach Charlie Richard. During those 14 seasons, the Wildcats were in the playoffs 10 times — including four trips to the semis and one to the final. Also, Baker was ranked in the NAIA Top 25 for a record 129 consecutive weeks while Richard was head coach.

After Richard died of a heart attack in December 1994, BU named Steve Schottel as his replacement. But Schottel’s first Baker team was his last. The Wildcats went 3-6 in 1995 — the school’s first losing record in nearly two decades — and Frangoulis, who had been defensive coordinator for the previous three seasons, was elevated to the top job.

Frangoulis’ first BU team compiled a 7-4 record, finished second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference and earned a postseason berth in the Wheat Bowl in Ellinwood. Baker subsisted near the .500 level during the next three seasons, but a senior-laden team compiled a 9-2 record in 2000 and toppled Campbellsville (Ky.) College in the KWTO Bowl in Bolivar, Mo.

At the time, Baker appeared headed back to its accustomed status among the NAIA elite, but three straight losing seasons — 4-6 in ’03, 3-8 in ’02 and 5-6 in ’01 — prompted Frangoulis to turn in his resignation last month.

Harris is convinced the Wildcats can return to the glory days, that BU has everything in place to ascend to its former level as an NAIA power.

“One thing we have going for us is our rich football tradition,” Harris said. “It’s still fresh in people’s minds.”

Liston Stadium, a charming stone structure just off campus, underwent a recent renovation that improved the BU dressing room and the press box. Harris said the school also was looking at replacing the grass surface with field turf and replacing the track.

Meanwhile, BU’s on-campus locker room and weight facility each have been upgraded within the last few years.

“Our weight room is state-of-the-art,” Harris said. “It’s one of the best at our level in the country.”