04-02-2006, 12:02 AM
PHOENIX -- North Carolina State coach Herb Sendek has accepted an offer to become the coach at Arizona State, an official with knowledge of the deal confirmed Saturday night.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no formal announcement.
Arizona State athletic director Lisa Love, who attended the Sun Devils' spring football scrimmage Saturday in Tempe, was unavailable for comment.
Sendek is 258-158 in 13 seasons as a head coach, the last 10 with North Carolina State, where he is 191-132. He spent his first three seasons with Miami of Ohio.
Sendek led the Wolfpack to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the third round in 2005.
The Sun Devils have been looking for a coach since March 10, when Love announced that Rob Evans would not return next season.
Arizona State's first target reportedly was Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon, who spoke with Sun Devil officials before accepting a contract extension from Pitt through 2012-13, at a significant pay raise.
Another name that was in the mix earlier this week was Wichita State's Mark Turgeon, ESPN.com's Andy Katz reported. A source close to Turgeon said he withdrew his interest and is in talks with the Shockers to extend and beef up his deal.
Other names that had been mentioned for the Arizona State job included Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett, a Mesa product, Creighton coach Dana Altman and former Indiana coach Mike Davis, who resigned from the Hoosiers last month.
Earlier in the week, former Utah head coach and current ESPN basketball analyst Rick Majerus reportedly met with Love, but The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that Majerus was no longer a candidate for the position.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no formal announcement.
Arizona State athletic director Lisa Love, who attended the Sun Devils' spring football scrimmage Saturday in Tempe, was unavailable for comment.
Sendek is 258-158 in 13 seasons as a head coach, the last 10 with North Carolina State, where he is 191-132. He spent his first three seasons with Miami of Ohio.
Sendek led the Wolfpack to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the third round in 2005.
The Sun Devils have been looking for a coach since March 10, when Love announced that Rob Evans would not return next season.
Arizona State's first target reportedly was Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon, who spoke with Sun Devil officials before accepting a contract extension from Pitt through 2012-13, at a significant pay raise.
Another name that was in the mix earlier this week was Wichita State's Mark Turgeon, ESPN.com's Andy Katz reported. A source close to Turgeon said he withdrew his interest and is in talks with the Shockers to extend and beef up his deal.
Other names that had been mentioned for the Arizona State job included Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett, a Mesa product, Creighton coach Dana Altman and former Indiana coach Mike Davis, who resigned from the Hoosiers last month.
Earlier in the week, former Utah head coach and current ESPN basketball analyst Rick Majerus reportedly met with Love, but The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that Majerus was no longer a candidate for the position.