A.D.: AFTER DALIS NEW ERA FOR UCLA IN JUNE, AS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR TO EXIT.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

UCLA athletic director Pete Dalis, who in his 19th year is the longest- serving athletic director in the Pacific-10 Conference, announced his retirement Monday, effective when his contract expires in June.

Dalis, who turns 64 next month, has long talked of retirement and did nothing to dampen speculation that the last contract he signed, in January, would be his last. He said he came to that conclusion over the summer and decided Saturday, when he was with the football team in Pullman, Wash., that the time was right to make the announcement.

He notified his senior staff members at a meeting at 1 p.m., then went downstairs in the athletic department's Morgan Center, where the announcement was made at the conclusion of football coach Bob Toledo's weekly news conference.

``I thought about it and talked to the chancellor (Albert Carnesale) and the vice chancellor (Pete Blackman) late in the summer and I decided I wanted to retire this June,'' Dalis said. ``You don't get these years back. I'll be 64 1/2 when I retire and I'm looking forward to doing some other things and enjoy life a little bit.''

Although UCLA's athletic department has a record of promoting from within, the school will conduct a national search for a replacement. Blackman, who oversees the athletic department, will head a search committee that will be comprised of people inside and outside the school.

There are at least four in-house candidates: associate athletic directors Betsy Stephenson, Rick Purdy, Ken Weiner and Glenn Toth. Two former UCLA athletes who have experience as Division I athletic directors also are expected to be considered: UC Irvine athletic director Dan Guerrero, a former baseball player, and Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier, a former football player.

Dalis said he will not make a recommendation.

``There are a lot of good people in my department,'' he said. ``I hope it's a Bruin.''

Dalis, who rose from the football team's manager as an undergraduate to the overseer of a department with a $37 million budget, considers his greatest accomplishment the facilities he's leaving behind - most notably the recently completed renovation of the Morgan Center, which houses the offices of all coaches and administrators as well as the school's sports hall of fame.

Dalis, who earns $167,508 a year based on his last contract, will spend much of his final months involved with the $5 million renovation of the Acosta Center, where the athletic training facilities, weight rooms and locker rooms are located.

Dalis, who preferred to work out of the spotlight, was described by those who work with him as a shrewd negotiator who was compassionate toward his employees and fiercely proud of his university. He approached his work intellectually but viewed games as emotionally as a typical fan.

Asked what he would miss about his job, Dalis didn't hesitate.

``I will not miss the media,'' he said, without the hint of a smile. He singled out the Internet as a major source of irritation.

``It almost creates another work level,'' Dalis said. ``People have access to you (through e-mail) that they normally wouldn't have. It changes how we recruit. You'll get a lot of coaches who come to you and say, 'Did you see what was on the Internet?' You try to manage it (so) it doesn't overwhelm you. It bothers you.''

Dalis' final years were marked by several scandals in the athletic department - the most public of which two years ago, when nearly 20 football players were caught with illegally obtained handicapped-parking placards.

``That was painful,'' Stephenson said, ``because young people made mistakes that he was very concerned about and he struggled with balancing the opportunity for teaching young people right and wrong with the public scrutiny that occurred in that situation.''

In 1995, the softball team was put on probation and forced to forfeit a national championship after it was discovered that softball players were being given soccer scholarships. Months later, the basketball program was put on probation for recruiting violations that included revelations that recruit Baron Davis was driving a car sold to him by then-coach Jim Harrick's son.

Dalis gained national attention last winter when, with the basketball team floundering, he acknowledged contacting Rick Pitino. The news stunned coach Steve Lavin, who learned of it from reporters, and drew criticism in college basketball circles. One of the harshest critics was ESPN commentator Dick Vitale.

Dalis, who also received criticism when he fired Harrick for lying about a falsified expense report, dismissed the criticisms, calling Vitale ``a bootlicker.''

Dalis said the events of the last basketball season didn't influence his decision to retire. Lavin said despite their difference he'll always be thankful to Dalis.

``Pete Dalis hired me as the head coach and for that I'll be indebted and eternally grateful,'' Lavin said. ``In any relationship in a pressure- packed situation, there's going to be peaks and valleys and misunderstandings. Overall, I'm not the head coach at UCLA if not for Pete Dalis. At the end of the day, our goals are the same. We both want UCLA basketball to be successful.''

DALIS ERA

Here's a look at national championships won by UCLA since Peter Dalis was appointed athletic director in 1983:

Sport Titles

Volleyball (M) 8

Softball 7

Water Polo (M) 4

Gymnastics (W) 3

Soccer (M) 3

Volleyball (W) 3

Gymnastics (M) 2

Indoor T&F (W) 2

Track & Field (M) 2

Basketball (M) 1

Golf (M) 1

Golf (W) 1

Tennis (M) 1

Water Polo (W) 1

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) UCLA athletic director Pete Dalis, left, holds the longest tenure among Pacific-10 Conference ADs.

(2) Ed O'Bannon celebrates UCLA's basketball championship in 1995. It's one of 39 NCAA championships the school has won under Pete Dalis.

Eric Draper/Associated Press

(3) DALIS