Ousted University of Hawai'i Athletics Director Herman Frazier might not have to wait long for his next job.

Frazier's name is being widely floated in the track and field community for the just-opened position of USA Track & Field chief executive officer, several people have said.

USATF was left with an opening when Craig Masback, who held the position for 10 years, resigned Wednesday to become director of business affairs for Nike's Global Sports Marketing Division. USATF said Masback will make the move over the next few months.

Masback, the point man for track and field in this country, operated under a four-year contract valued at between $300,000 and $400,000 per year.

Frazier made $250,000 per year at UH, where he had been athletic director for 5 1/2 years before his firing Tuesday, a day after UH's winningest football coach, June Jones, signed to be the coach at Southern Methodist.

UH will pay Frazier $312,510 in a severance settlement. His contact was to set to expire in 2010.

"The (USATF) board meets this weekend to begin the process, so it is too early to speculate on possible candidates," said Jill M. Geer, USATF spokeswoman.

But Frazier's name has showed up on a variety of track and field message boards, including that of Track and Field News.

"He's a natural," said a friend of Frazier's also in tune with USA Track and Field. "It is a job he would have still had an interest in even if he was still (employed) there in Hawai'i."

Frazier won bronze and gold medals in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and is a former U.S. Olympic Committee vice president. He was Chef de Mission for the U.S. at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Frazier was not immediately available for comment.

USATF is a nonprofit organization that has a budget of more than $17 million, according to a posting by the organization.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.