Matta Takes Ohio State Coaching Job After All

A week after denying he was interested in becoming men’s basketball coach at Ohio State, Xavier’s Thad Matta accepted the position Wednesday.

Ohio State said it would hold a news conference Friday to formally introduce Matta.

Dawn Rogers, Xavier athletic director, confirmed Matta’s hiring in an e-mail to Associated Press shortly after she received a call from him early Wednesday evening.

“I always had the uneasy feeling that Thad might be the next Ohio State coach,” Rogers said at a news conference. “Ultimately, he did what he needed to do to be where he wanted to be as a coach.”

Andy Geiger, Ohio State athletic director, did not return calls seeking comment.

Matta, who turns 37 on Sunday, interviewed with Geiger, members of the search committee and Ohio State President Karen Holbrook on Wednesday morning.

Matta, who led Xavier to the NCAA tournament’s regional finals in March, was one of three coaches interviewed on campus this week. The others were Willis Wilson of Rice and Kevin Stallings of Vanderbilt.

Ohio State fired Jim O’Brien on June 8, six weeks after he admitted to Geiger that he had paid a recruit $6,000 in 1999. O’Brien coached the Buckeyes for seven seasons.

Matta had a 78-23 record in three seasons at Xavier. He was 24-8 in his only season as coach at his alma mater, Butler.

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Kelly Greenberg was hired as women’s coach at Boston University after five seasons at Pennsylvania, where she led the Quakers to the NCAA tournament twice and had a record of 84-54.

Football

New England released cornerback Otis Smith, 38, less than three months after re-signing the 14-year veteran, who played with Detroit last season.

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Former Ohio State tight end Louis Irizarry enrolled at Youngstown State, but a school official said he did not know whether Irizarry intended to play for the Penguins.

Irizarry was suspended by Ohio State after being charged with robbery in May. Irizarry and teammate Ira Guilford pleaded not guilty and a trial date was set for Sept. 2.

Tennis

Two-time champion Albert Costa of Spain lost to Igor Andreev of Russia, 6-2, 6-4, in the second round of the clay-court Swiss Open at Gstaad. Defending champion Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic defeated Albert Montanes of Spain, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.... Defending champion Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina defeated Irakli Labadze of Georgia, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Swedish Open at Bastad.

Miscellany

Former Olympic wrestler Alexis Vila Perdoma, 33, who defected from Cuba in 1997, was charged with committing airport violence by crashing his sport utility vehicle into an airport terminal Sunday at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.

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Orange County has been granted an American Basketball Assn. expansion franchise, the league said. Details were being finalized on a home court for the Orange County Crush.

Passings

A funeral service will be held Friday at 1 p.m. at Holy Cross Cemetery, 5835 W. Slauson Ave. in Culver City, for Hosea Fortune, a 1977 Beverly Hills High graduate who played for the San Diego Chargers in 1983, his family said.

Fortune died Saturday from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, family friend Pamela Winston said. He was 45.

Viewing will be from 3 to 8 p.m. today at Holy Cross Cemetery.