ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Chet Gladchuk is returning to the East Coast after four years in Texas.

The veteran athletic administrator was named Navy's athletic director on Tuesday, succeeding Jack Lengyel, who had held the post since 1988.

Gladchuk, a 1973 graduate of Boston College who later served as AD at his alma mater, has spent the past four years in the same position at the University of Houston. Gladchuk and Lengyel are the only two non-Academy graduates among the 28 men to hold the position at Navy.

Adm. John Ryan, the academy's superintendent, said the school had interviewed six candidates for the position.

"We were looking for someone who would continue the tradition of strong leadership" in the athletic department, Ryan said.

The future of the football program and improvements to Navy's 42-year-old stadium will be two of the key items on Gladchuk's plate.

"We probably belong in a football league," Ryan said. "We're very interested in the ACC or the Big East. If they expand, we want to be considered."

However, Gladchuk said that is not a matter to be dealt with in the near term.

"There are so many variables in that decision. It will require careful study and analysis. The timetable on that isn't anything pressing," Gladchuk said.

One obstacle to a major conference football affiliation is that Navy plays in the Patriot League in other sports, and would be unlikely to make the jump to ACC or Big East level in basketball.

Another problem was evident last week when Temple, a school being expelled from Big East football over attendance, competitiveness and strength of schedule issues, beat the Midshipmen 45-26 in the opener.

"A conference affiliation is very much in our future, but we'll have to investigate and see how that unfolds," Gladchuk said when asked to list his goals for the program.

Other goals cited by Gladchuk include raising the academic performance of the athletes to the level of the rest of the student body, increasing attendance and establishing good relations with the academy's neighbors.

Gladchuk, who was athletic director at Boston College from 1991 through 1997, presided over the expansion of that school's Alumni Stadium, which was completed in 1994.

Navy plans to increase the capacity of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium from 36,000 to 40,000. However, the stadium is located off-campus, surrounded on three sides by residential neighborhoods, and Gladchuk conceded "renovation of the stadium will be a sensitive issue."

At Houston, Gladchuk was sued twice for alleged racial discrimination in considering candidates for open positions.

At Boston College, Gladchuk resigned after a football gambling scandal led to the suspension of 13 players. Five of them later were reinstated.

Authorities said players bet on the World Series, and two players bet against their own team in a 1996 loss to Syracuse.

Authorities found no evidence of point-shaving.

The length of Gladchuk's contract at Navy was not revealed. Navy has had only two athletic directors in the past 33 years, but Gladchuk said it is unlikely the Naval Academy would be the last stop in his career.

"I never look at a job as a retirement job. I'll approach this job with enthusiasm and will maintain that throughout my tenure," Gladchuk said. "When I can't maintain that it'll be time for the next man to step up."

Gladchuk's tenure will officially begin Oct. 1, but said he could be "on board by the third week in September."

Navy is host to Boston College that weekend, giving Gladchuk, who earned three football letters there, added incentive to meet his goal.