Hamilton Hired to Coach Seminoles

Leonard Hamilton, who rebuilt the University of Miami basketball program, was hired as the coach at Florida State on Tuesday.

The 53-year-old Hamilton replaces Steve Robinson, who was fired last week after the Seminoles completed a fourth consecutive losing season.

Florida State went 18-14 and made the NCAA tournament during Robinson’s first season in 1997-98, but lost at least 17 games in each of the last four seasons. The Seminoles went 12-17 this season, including a 4-12 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference, although they handed defending national champion Duke its first loss of the season on Jan. 6.

“I see no reason why we can’t develop a basketball program with a similar type of success as football and baseball,” Hamilton said. Florida State’s football program has won two national championships, and the baseball team is ranked No. 1 in the nation.

Hamilton coached at Miami for 10 seasons from 1991-2000, leading the Hurricanes to a winning record in each of his last six seasons. The team went to the NCAA tournament in his final three seasons, reaching the final 16 in 2000, after making only one tournament appearance in 40 years before he took over the program.

Hamilton left Miami to take over the Washington Wizards, but lasted only one season.

He resigned after Washington struggled to a 19-63 record last season.

Washington Coach Bob Bender is out after three consecutive losing seasons, a source close to the school’s athletic department confirmed to the Associated Press.

It was unknown whether Bender was being fired or was resigning, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Asked to comment on reports that Bender would be replaced, Jim Daves, Washington’s sports information director, would say only that an announcement concerning the basketball program was planned for today.

West Virginia received permission to talk with Cincinnati Coach Bob Huggins about its vacant coaching job.

“We know that West Virginia has a great interest in Bob Huggins,” Cincinnati Athletic Director Bob Goin said.

“What has yet to be determined is how high Bob Huggins’ interest is in the West Virginia position.”

Huggins said Monday night he had talked with Goin but had not talked with anybody from West Virginia. Goin declined to say if he has a meeting with Huggins this week.

West Virginia Athletic Director Ed Pastilong drove 80 miles Sunday to Pittsburgh to watch Cincinnati in the NCAA tournament.

Huggins was born in Morgantown, W.Va., played for West Virginia, graduated from the school and began his coaching career there in 1977 as a graduate assistant.

He has told Cincinnati President Joseph Steger he would someday like to coach the Mountaineers.

The West Virginia job opened when Gale Catlett, a former Cincinnati coach, said in February he was retiring.

Nolan Richardson’s future as basketball coach at Arkansas will not be decided until today at the earliest.

B. Alan Sugg, president of the university system, is “considering matters presented by Mr. Richardson in their meeting ... and does not anticipate reaching his decision until he has conducted a thorough review,” according to a release from his office.

Sugg is trying to decide whether to overturn Chancellor John White’s decision to buy out the last six years of Richardson’s contract for $500,000 a year.

On Monday, Richardson supplied a stack of documents that he hoped would persuade Sugg to reverse the decision.

South Alabama’s Bob Weltlich resigned as coach following a 7-21 season, the worst in school history.

Athletic Director Joe Gottfried said Weltlich and the university “mutually agreed” he should step down.

Weltlich, who was 81-65 at South Alabama, had three years left on the contract he signed in July.

He will receive $197,500 and use of a car for six months as part of his buyout.

Weltlich led the Jaguars to three regular-season Sun Belt Conference titles in five years.