Hazzard Says He Misses Coaching, Might Seek UCI Job

Walt Hazzard, the former UCLA basketball coach who built his reputation at Chapman College before going on to Westwood, said Thursday he might apply for the UC Irvine job.

“I’m just in the consideration stage right now,” said Hazzard, who is works for the vice chancellor for student affairs at UCLA. “Getting back into college coaching takes a little time to digest. It looks like a promising (possibility).”

Irvine is in the early stages of its search for a replacement for Coach Bill Mulligan, who announced last week that he is resigning at the end of the season.

Hazzard’s UCLA teams had a record of 77-47 during his four seasons, ending in 1988, when he was fired after a 16-14 season. The Bruins’ best record under him was 1986-87, when they went 25-7 and won the Pacific 10 championship before losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament. His record at Chapman was 43-14 in two seasons, ending in 1984. Before that, he had a record of 53-9 in two seasons at Compton College.

“I do miss coaching, very much so,” said Hazzard, who said he had spoken with someone at Irvine about the job, but “nothing official.”

“It’s in Orange County,” said Hazzard, who applied for the coaching job at Howard University last year but later withdrew. “I had success in Orange County. It would be like going home.”

Hazzard, who is on loan as a consultant from UCLA to a program called Young Black Scholars, said he would make a decision about whether to apply in “the next few weeks,” adding that he had other options he would not discuss.

Irvine’s five-member search committee, headed by Athletic Director Tom Ford, will hold its first meeting today.

Ford has sought and received permission to talk with Washington State Coach Kelvin Sampson, said Jim Livengood, the school’s athletic director. An attempt to reach Sampson was unsuccessful. His Cougar team has a record of 15-8.