Pelicans hire Stan Van Gundy

Stan Van Gundy is headed to the New Orleans Pelicans, where he’ll take over a promising team that includes 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson and most improved player Brandon Ingram.

Van Gundy agreed to a four- year contract, said a person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Van Gundy, 61, spent parts of 12 seasons coaching Miami, Orlando and Detroit, winning 58% of his games and going to the playoffs eight times.

The Big West Conference will play 20 league games in men’s and women’s basketball under a modified format that will reduce travel during the coming season because of the coronavirus. No spectators will be allowed at games initially, although the league said it will revisit that issue as the season progresses.

Penn State’s Pat Chambers resigned following an internal investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct by the Nittany Lions’ basketball coach. Chambers, 49, had been at the school for nine years and was coming off the team’s best season under his direction.

Earlier this year, former Penn State player Rasir Bolton, now at Iowa State, made allegations of inappropriate conduct by Chambers to ESPN’s “The Undefeated.” Bolton said during a particularly difficult stretch for the team in January 2019,

Chambers told him: “I want to loosen the noose that’s around your neck.”

Louisiana State has selfimposed penalties for NCAA rules violations by the football program that include a reduction of scholarships and a two- year ban from its athletic facilities for Cleveland Browns star and former Tigers receiver Odell Beckham Jr., according to a report by Sports Illustrated.

Beckham received criticism for handing out $ 2,000 in cash during the celebration after the Tigers’ 42- 25 victory over Clemson in the national championship game last January.

Former Texas Tech women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings, who was fired after USA Today published a report detailing players’ claims of physical and emotional abuse, f iled a lawsuit against the school and athletic director Kirby Hocutt.

Food service contractor Aramark announced plans to lay off 975 workers in Colorado, most of whom work at Coors Field and are responsible for concession stands that were closed during the season.

Merritt Norvell Jr., the f irst Black athletic director at Michigan State, has died. He was 79. Norvell was appointed to Michigan State’s AD spot in 1995 and served until 1999.