Fogler to Leave South Carolina

Eddie Fogler will not return as South Carolina’s basketball coach after a 15-14 regular season, ending his stay of eight years at the school and possibly his career as a college coach.

Athletic Director Mike McGee said Monday that when he would not extend Fogler’s contract, the coach agreed to leave. Fogler will be paid $750,000 to buy out the remaining three years of his contract.

“He was not fired,” McGee said.

The move came a day after South Carolina accepted a bid to the National Invitation Tournament. The Gamecocks play Wednesday night at Connecticut, and McGee said Fogler will finish the season.

Fogler, 52, wanted the school to make a “stronger commitment” to him regarding his contract.

“Without this commitment, it would become increasingly more difficult to recruit, coach and maintain the present level of the program at best,” he said.

He said he had no immediate plans.

*

Massachusetts Coach James “Bruiser” Flint resigned only hours after meeting with school officials to discuss his future.

The Minutemen were 15-15 this season and failed to make the NCAA tournament or the NIT.

“I appreciate coach Flint’s 12 years of service to the university. He played a key role in one of the great turnarounds in college basketball,” Massachusetts Athletic Director Bob Marcum said in a news release posted on the school’s Web site. “But, I believe it is time for our program to move in a new direction,”

Flint, 35, has a career record of 86-72. He has one year remaining on his contract. According to published reports, the school will owe him about $150,000 for the remaining year.

*

Less than two weeks after being selected Sun Belt Conference coach of the year, Joey Stiebing is out of a job at New Orleans. New Orleans finished the season 17-12, reversing last season’s record of 12-17. Stiebing was 57-58 in four years at the school. . . . North Texas fired Coach Vic Trilli after his teams went 20-87 in four seasons, including 4-24 this season.

*

Rick Pitino could visit the Louisville campus as early as this week and talks continue to make him the Cardinals’ coach.

Athletic Director Tom Jurich flew to Miami on Friday to talk with Pitino about filling the vacancy left by retired Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum. The two agreed only that Pitino would try to visit Louisville while working as an analyst for CBS during the NCAA tournament.

*

Bob Knight was coy about his future during a conference call promoting a Web site that is paying the former Indiana coach to provide his picks for the NCAA tournament.

But Knight, fired in September after 29 years at Indiana, has confirmed he plans to visit the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock this week for a meeting about the school’s coaching vacancy.