WSU Hires Kent as New Basketball Coach

Former Oregon coach Ernie Kent has been hired as the next coach at Washington State.  The 59 year old Kent replaces Ken Bone, who was fired after five seasons on March 18.

Terms of the contract have not yet been revealed.

"I am excited that Ernie will be the leader of our men's basketball program," Moos said in a university press release. "I have witnessed firsthand his many talents. He has proven that he can win championships in our conference. Together we saw tremendous success at his alma mater and I have every reason to expect to see the same at mine."

Kent has long been rumored as a potential candidate to coach at WSU because of his ties to athletics director Bill Moos. In fact, this is the second time Moos has hired Kent, whom he plucked out of St. Mary's in 1997. Kent coached at Oregon for 13 seasons before being fired by then-Oregon athletics director Mike Bellotti in 2010 after finishing 10th and 9th in the Pac-10 in consecutive years.

I'm looking forward to providing the kind of passion and leadership to help potential student-athletes understand how special WSU is," Kent said in the press release. "Getting back into coaching for me has meant finding the right program that matches up with my passion, my vision, my beliefs and my commitment; and I feel Washington State University fits all that criteria for me.

Over the weekend, Boise State and former Yakima Valley Community College Coach Leon Rice turned down the job to stay in Boise.