MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin appears close to hiring a successor to longtime athletic director Barry Alvarez.

The Wisconsin Board of Regents plans to hold a closed session Wednesday to consider an employment agreement and compensation for a new athletic director, the University of Wisconsin System said in a news release Tuesday. It’s the sole item on the agenda.

Alvarez, 74, announced April 6 that he was stepping down. His retirement takes effect in the beginning of July.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank has said she hopes to hire someone by the end of June.

“We don’t take the many successes we’ve had over the last several decades for granted,” Blank said in April. “That can be lost quite quickly with the wrong leader. This is a important hire for our university as well as for the state.”

Peter Miller, the chair of Wisconsin’s athletic board, was heading the search committee to pick the new athletic director.

During the news conference announcing his retirement, Alvarez said he had planned to step down sooner but that he wanted to remain in charge while the athletic department dealt with the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

Alvarez arrived at Wisconsin in 1990 as football coach and became athletic director in 2004. He briefly served in a dual role before stepping down as football coach after the 2005 season.