Hill Steps Down at San Jose State

San Jose State Coach Fitz Hill resigned Monday with one game left in his fourth consecutive losing season with the Spartans.

Hill, one of five black head coaches in Division I-A, will coach San Jose State’s season finale against Fresno State on Saturday. The Spartans are 2-8 this season and 14-32 under Hill.

Frustrated with lack of support from fans and the school, he is leaving to become an instructor at Central Florida. Hill, a former Army lieutenant who served in the Persian Gulf War and has a doctorate in higher education, plans to write a book.

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Illinois Coach Ron Turner was fired after three consecutive losing seasons, a sharp turnaround from early success that included the team’s first Big Ten football title in a decade.

Illinois was 3-8 this season and has only one conference victory the last two years. Two of the Illini’s four wins overall the last two seasons were against Division I-AA opponents.

Turner, who had two years left on a $1.1-million-a-year contract, was 35-57 with two bowl trips in eight seasons. Since his 2001 team was 10-2 and played in the Sugar Bowl, Illinois is 9-25.

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Colorado Athletic Director Dick Tharp resigned, ending a nine-year tenure sullied by accusations of recruiting violations and fiscal mismanagement. The move is effective Nov. 30.

The resignation came only months after the school’s football program was rocked by allegations that sex and alcohol were used to entice recruits, and lawsuits accused players or recruits of sexual assault. Football Coach Gary Barnett also was under scrutiny but kept his job.

New allegations of fund-raising problems surfaced this month. The school told the NCAA last week that a booster club that had not been audited under university auspices bought equipment for the athletic department, an NCAA violation.

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Kentucky offensive coordinator Ron Hudson resigned. The Wildcats (2-8) rank 114th in offense and 115th in scoring among 117 Division I-A teams.... West Virginia receiver Chris Henry was suspended for Thursday night’s game at Pittsburgh for an unspecified violation of team rules.... The Capital One Bowl is expected to announce today that Iowa will be invited to play in the Jan. 1 game in Orlando, Fla.... Navy accepted an invitation to the Emerald Bowl on Dec. 30 at SBC Park in San Francisco.