***UPDATED*** Evans out as AD; replacement candidates emerge

Damon Evans has resigned as UGA athletics director in wake of a DUI arrest.

UGA President Michael Adams asked for and received Evans’ resignation and the resignation will be announced on Monday.

Candidates for the position include current Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations Arthur Johnson, Senior Associate Athletic Director Carla Williams and University of Florida Executive Senior Athletics Director Greg McGarity.

According to the arrest report, Evans referred to Fuhrmann as “a friend” although Fuhrmann’s red panties were on his lap when he was pulled over by Georgia State patrolman Mark Cabe.

Evans was arrested in Atlanta on Wednesday night, jailed for the evening, then returned to Athens on Thursday to make a public apology.

Evans was released from jail Thursday morning. He then traveled to Athens where he met with UGA officials and head coaches at 1:00 p.m. At about 6:30 p.m., Evans spoke at a press conference in Athens attended by several media members.

“I let this university down, I let my family down, I let those in the Bulldog nation down,” Evans said at a press conference. “My behavior, my actions, were not indicative of what we teach our student athletes at the University of Georgia.”

Evans’ arrest occurred the night before his five-year, $550,000 a year contract extension went into affect. The $110,000 raise was heavily scrutinized, but University president Mike Adams said Evans had boosted the athletic department’s revenue and had done a great deal for Georgia athletics.

“He’s already become a nationally recognized figure in athletics, and we are fortunate to have him. I think he’s done an extraordinary job,” Adams said in February after Evans received his extension. “And there’s not been a whiff of impropriety during that six-year period. If you’re the president of an institution, that means a whole lot.”

University president Mike Adams released a statement Thursday afternoon saying he will “reserve further action pending a full review by staff and legal counsel.” Adams was not at the press conference.

“Drinking and driving is a serious matter, and I was extremely disappointed to hear of the arrest,” Adams said. “Certainly this is not an example of the kind of leadership that I expect our senior administrators to set. I have high regard for Damon personally; I care deeply about him and his family and know him to be a man of integrity. He has sincerely apologized to me for the embarrassment this has brought upon the university.”