Romar Replaces Bender at Washington

Lorenzo Romar will return to Washington as the school’s basketball coach, replacing Bob Bender, who was asked to resign last month.

“If it were not for my alma mater calling, if it were not for that, I would still be coaching at Saint Louis University,” said Romar, who coached the Billikens the last three seasons. “It just so happens that the school where I played my collegiate basketball needed a coach.”

Romar was a starting guard for Washington from 1978-80.

Bender’s teams had consecutive 20-loss seasons for the first time in school history.

Romar, 43, was an assistant at UCLA from 1992-96 and is known for his strong recruiting on the West Coast.

Romar has a 93-88 record in six seasons as a Division I coach. He took Pepperdine to the NIT in 1999, and the following year his Saint Louis team reached the NCAA tournament.

Romar was 51-44 at Saint Louis, including victories over Washington the last two seasons.