Bradley, DePaul looking for new men's coaches

It didn't take long for the coaching vacancy signs to go up.

Pat Kennedy of DePaul and Mack MaCarthy of Virginia Commonwealth resigned on Tuesday, while Jim Molinari of Bradley and Mel Hankinson of Liberty were fired.

Massachusetts women's coach Joanie O'Brien also was dismissed.

VCU didn't wait long to find a replacement for McCarthy, promoting 27-year-old assistant Jeff Capel III to head coach.

"After 28 years of Division I coaching, I thought it might be time for me to make a change," McCarthy said a day after the Rams (21-11) lost to North Carolina-Wilmington in the Colonial Athletic Association title game.

The state of Illinois lost two coaches in Kennedy and Molinari.

After a 9-19 season in which his Blue Demons failed to qualify for the Conference-USA tournament, Kennedy resigned after five seasons and a disappointing 67-75 record.

"I feel very strongly in my heart that I came to DePaul for all the right reasons, and I have decided to step aside at this time for all the right reasons," Kennedy said.

Kennedy is 393-276 overall in 22 seasons, and has made eight trips to the NCAA tournament. He came to DePaul from Florida State, where he led the Seminoles to a 202-131 mark in 11 seasons.

Molinari spent 11 seasons at Bradley, but was just 42-48 over the past three -- the main reason he was let go, according to school president David Broski.

"I think we should be holding our teams to a higher standard than that," Broski said. "Basketball is very much a core part of our traditions and history, and I think we need to pay attention to it."

Bradley finished 9-20 after a 66-44 loss to Southern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Conference quarterfinals. Molinari was 174-152 in 11 seasons.

Assistant Al Biancalana is the interim coach.

At VCU, Capel becomes the youngest active men's basketball coach in Division I. The former Duke standout was an assistant at VCU for one season and previously was an assistant at Old Dominion for one year under his father.

McCarthy, whose teams were 66-55 in four years, has two years left on this contract and said he plans to stay at the school in an administrative job.

Said Capel, a starter for Duke in it's 1994 national title season: "Last summer, I was just worried about getting a job. Now I'm standing here with the best job in the league."

Hankinson was fired following a 5-25 season. He came to Liberty in 1998 after five years as an assistant at West Virginia. His record at Liberty was 36-77.

In 11 years at UMass, O'Brien was 159-159 with two trips to the NCAA tournament. UMass finished 12-18 this season.

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On Monday, Army coach Pat Harris was dismissed after a 12-16 season and a five-year record of 42-96.

Also, Ohio State women's coach Beth Burns was fired after a 14-15 season; Butler women's coach Wendy Gatlin resigned following a 3-26 season; and Louisiana-Lafayette women's coach Gay Nix resigned after a 7-21 mark.