Another name has been tossed into the ring for the vacant NIU men’s basketball coaching job.

Jerry Loyd, currently the head man at Louisiana Tech, said that he had been contacted earlier this week by NIU about taking over for Jim Molinari. But Loyd said he had not been formally interviewed and that he expects to remain at the Ruston, La. school next year.

Loyd compiled a 41-19 record in his two seasons at Louisiana Tech. The 36-year old Loyd led his team to a 21-10 mark and the NCAA Tournament this season where his Bulldogs lost to Wake Forest in the first round.

Other known candidates for the position are remaining tight-lipped, although interviews are believed to be taking place this week in Chicago.

Other candidates frequently mentioned are Robert Collins, Mark Coomes and Bruce Weber, who are assistants at DePaul, Illinois and Purdue, respectively.

It is not known if NIU became aware of Loyd through the services of Raycom Management Group, the company hired by NIU to assist in its coach search.

NIU has used the services of Raycom before in its search for football coach Jerry Pettibone’s replacement in December and for the search that brought Molinari to NIU in 1989.

The NIU job opened when Molinari left after two years at NIU to take the head coaching reigns at Bradley University.

The exact cost of Raycom’s services will not be known until the search is completed and the company submits a final bill, but Raycom’s previous bills to NIU were in the $8,000 range.

Raycom Management Group is a nationally recognized company that has helped conduct 30 to 40 collegiate-coach searches in the last few years, a company spokesperson said.