Auburn bringing Freeze back to the SEC

Auburn is bringing Hugh Freeze back to the Southeastern Conference as coach of the Tigers, more than five years after his resignation from SEC West rival Mississippi amid both personal and NCAA scandals.

Freeze spent the last four seasons as coach at Liberty. He’s 76-47 in 13 seasons as a coach. He had 27 wins at Mississippi vacated for NCAA violations.

“After a thoughtful, thorough and well-vetted search, we ended where we started, with Hugh Freeze,” new athletic director John Cohen said Monday in a statement. “Of all the candidates we considered, Hugh was the best fit. Fit has several meanings, but the most important factors were student-athlete development, football strategy, recruiting and SEC experience.”

Cohen was hired Oct. 31, the same day Auburn fired Bryan Harsin after he went 9-12 in less than two seasons.

Nevada Las Vegas fired coach Marcus Arroyo after a 7-23 record. Kenwick Thompson will serve as the interim coach . ... Deion Sanders said a report stating Colorado offered him its coaching job is true and that he has also received interest from other schools. The Jackson State coach didn’t say whether he’s considering any of the opportunities . ... Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara entered the transfer portal . ... Middle Tennessee will play San Diego State in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24 . ... Nebraska introduced Matt Rhule as its coach, seven weeks after the Carolina Panthers fired him.

Rhule’s eight-year contract is valued at $74 million . ... The Big Ten disciplined Michigan State and Michigan for their roles in stadium tunnel altercations that led to seven Spartans being charged with crimes. The conference is fining Michigan State $100,000 and suspending cornerback Khary Crump for the first eight games of next season. Crump is facing a felonious assault charge. The Big Ten is also reprimanding Michigan for not providing adequate protection for both teams as they left the field.