STATE COLLEGE, PA. (AP) - Coach Ed DeChellis, who led Penn State to the NCAA tournament this year, has resigned to take the vacant job at Navy, according to a person in the Penn State athletic department familiar with the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Monday on condition of anonymity because DeChellis’ resignation has not been publicly announced by the university. The Patriot-News of Harrisburg first reported the move late Monday afternoon. A news conference was scheduled for Monday evening.
DeChellis declined comment when contacted by the AP.
The move comes as a surprise, after DeChellis orchestrated his alma mater’s first NCAA bid in a decade. The Nittany Lions lost to Temple, 66-64, in the second round.
DeChellis’ eight-year run at Penn State includes the 2009 NIT championship. He was rewarded with a three-extension later that year that would have kept him in Happy Valley until 2014.
The school doesn’t typically release salaries, though an open records request in 2009 showed DeChellis made more than $642,000.
After an 11-20 season in 2009-10, the Nittany Lions (19-15) secured an NCAA appearance this past season after surging into the Big Ten tournament finals before losing to Ohio State. Career leading scorer Talor Battle led the way.
But a program seemingly in perennial rebuilding mode already faced another rebuilding year in 2011-12 with Battle and three other senior starters out of eligibility. Plus, Battle’s half-brother, talented guard Taran Buie, left the program this offseason following a rocky freshman year filled with off-court issues.
The Navy job opened up after Billy Lange resigned earlier this month following a second straight losing season. Lange took an assistant coaching job at Villanova.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.