Fogler Is Named Basketball Coach at Wichita State

Eddie Fogler, an assistant basketball coach at the University of North Carolina for 13 seasons, was named head coach at Wichita State on Saturday.

Fogler succeeds Gene Smithson, who was fired March 5.

Fogler was introduced at a news conference by Athletic Director Lew Perkins, who said he had fired Smithson because of declining attendance, community apathy and a poor academic record by players in the program.

Fogler was a guard on Tar Heel teams that won Atlantic Coast Conference championships in 1968 and 1969 and reached the Final Four both years.

Fogler graduated from North Carolina in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He was a graduate assistant under Smith in 1971 and became a full-time assistant in 1973.