Wisconsin Decides It Won’t Retain Soderberg

Brad Soderberg won’t be back as the men’s basketball coach at Wisconsin.

Athletic Director Pat Richter said he informed Soderberg of the decision Monday, four days after the Badgers were ousted in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“Obviously, he was disappointed,” Richter said.

Soderberg wasn’t available for comment, but scheduled a news conference today to discuss his dismissal.

Soderberg, 38, took over as “acting coach” on Nov. 30, when Dick Bennett retired, citing mental and physical exhaustion.

Richter said he hoped to attract a coach to Wisconsin with a “national reputation” by month’s end, and he acknowledged that Utah’s Rick Majerus, a Wisconsin native, would be a prime candidate if he’s interested.

Majerus fits all Richter’s criteria: solid recruiter, state ties, big name.

Richter said he hadn’t spoken with Majerus, who was on sabbatical this season to recuperate from a heart operation and to care for his mother in Milwaukee.

Majerus was back in Salt Lake City on Monday, but didn’t immediately return a phone message left by the Associated Press. His receptionist said Majerus was in a staff meeting and then had a dinner engagement.

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The committee considering Indiana interim basketball Coach Mike Davis’ future at the school met for more than two hours without making a decision.

“Our group will gather once again, we don’t know when,” said university vice president Terry Clapacs, a committee member. “We are not at the end of our deliberations.”

The seven-member committee, appointed Friday by Indiana President Myles Brand, gathered in Brand’s office Monday for its first meeting.

Clapacs gave no indication whether Davis would be retained or whether the committee would look for a new coach.

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Florida A&M; said it will not renew the contracts of men’s Coach Mickey Clayton and women’s Coach Claudette Farmer. . . . Washington State sophomore center Kelley Berglund and freshman guard Rebecca Jordan have left the women’s team for undisclosed reasons, Coach Jenny Przekwas said.

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CBS’ ratings for the first four days of the NCAA basketball tournament were down 9% from last year, a victim in part of one-sided games and Tiger Woods.

The ratings for Thursday to Saturday totaled 5.2 with a 13 share, down from 5.7 with a 14 share a year ago and from 5.6 with a 13 share in 1999.

Woods’ first victory on the PGA Tour this season drew a 5.3 overnight rating on NBC despite the fact that most of it was shown on tape ending at 3 p.m. PST.