Tommy Bowden, former head football coach at Auburn, will return to coaching for the first time since 1998 as head coach at North Alabama. He inherits a program that has won 10 or more games the past four seasons and advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 Division II Football Championship. Bowden, who has been working as a television and radio sports commentator, compiled a 111-53-2 record through 15 seasons of coaching at Salem (West Virginia), Samford and Auburn. His Auburn teams were 47-17-1 from 1993 to 1998, including an 11-0 mark during his first season at the school.

Other transactions

Athletics directors – Carl Kirschner appointed interim athletics director at Rutgers, where as a professor of Spanish and dean of Rutgers College he also chairs the school’s Academic Oversight Committee for Intercollegiate Athletics. He will not be a candidate for the post as the search for an AD continues … Bill Elias resigned as AD at Gannon to join the football staff at Miami (Ohio). Gannon, who served alongside new Miami head coach Mike Haywood on the staff at LSU from 1994 to 1999, served as head football coach at Gannon from 1999 until assuming duties as athletics director in 2006.

Coaches

Men’s basketball – Southeast Missouri State terminated the contract of head coach Scott Edgar, who has been been on administrative leave since last fall.

Cross country – Joni Sanders selected as women’s coach at IUPUI after serving last season as assistant men’s and women’s coach at the school. She succeeds Scott Williams, who resigned.

Football – DeWayne Walker hired as head coach at New Mexico State after three seasons as defensive coordinator at UCLA. He also has served on National Football League staffs in Washington and New England and also with the New York Giants, and is a former associate head coach at Southern California. Walker is a recent NCAA Expert Coaches Forum participant … Mike Riley received a one-year contract extension through 2015 as head coach at Oregon State, which defeated Pittsburgh in the Brut Sun Bowl December 30 … Kyle Whittingham signed a new five-year contract at Utah, where he led this year’s team to an berth in tonight’s Allstate Sugar Bowl against Alabama … Jerry Flora named head coach at William Paterson after leading the team on an interim basis during the 2008 season. He came to the program as an assistant in 2002 … Rick Tedford received a two-year contract extension through 2015 after leading the Bears to an Emerald Bowl victory December 27 over Miami (Florida) … Todd Graham agreed to a new 10-year contract at Tulsa, where he led the Golden Hurricanes to GMAC Bowl appearances in each of his first two seasons at the school.

Football assistants – Rocky Long named defensive coordinator and Al Borges selected as offensive coordinator at San Diego State … Patrick Nix dismissed as offensive coordinator at Miami (Florida) … Steve Addazio promoted to offensive coordinator at Florida, where he has been on the staff since 2005 … Gus Malzahn selected as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Auburn.

Men’s and women’s swimming – Assistant coach Brett Hawke named acting men’s head coach and co-head women’s coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker named women’s head coach at Auburn, which announced that head men’s and women’s coach  Richard Quick has been diagnosed with an inoperable cancerous brain tumor. Quick, who is in his second stint as Auburn’s coach, led the Texas women’s team to five Division I titles and Stanford’s women to seven Division I titles before returning to his present post in 2007. He also has been a coach for six U.S. Olympic teams. Quick announced through the school that he is seeking treatment for the tumor.

Staff

Athletic trainer – Naoya Sato selected as assistant athletic trainer at Felician.