Kentucky’s Smith Lands a New Deal

Kentucky basketball Coach Tubby Smith agreed Wednesday to a four-year contract extension that will keep him at the school through the 2006-2007 season.

“We’ve agreed, it’s a done deal and now we just have to get it on paper,” Athletic Director Larry Ivy said after a meeting of the school’s athletics association board of directors. “We looked at several of the top institutions in the country and I think, once our figures are released, you’ll see that we’re right there with those institutions.

“It’s a figure that Tubby was very satisfied with and something that I feel is deserved for him for the job he’s done.”

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Pepperdine Coach Jan van Breda Kolff interviewed Tuesday for the opening at St. Bonaventure. Van Breda Kolff is a finalist along with Missouri Kansas City Coach Dean Demopoulos and Temple assistant Nate Blackwell to replace Jim Baron, who became coach at Rhode Island last week.

Pepperdine is 47-18 in two seasons under Van Breda Kolff, 49, who was coach at Vanderbilt from 1993-99 and Cornell from 1991-93.

Also, the Waves received a commitment from guard Devin Montgomery of Moorpark College.

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UCLA will play Alabama and Arizona will face Purdue in the eighth annual Wooden Classic on Dec. 8 at the Arrowhead Pond. . . . Memphis Coach John Calipari has withdrawn his name from consideration for the South Carolina job that opened with the resignation of Eddie Fogler. . . . Delaware, Hofstra, Towson and Drexel will join the Colonial Athletic Assn. for basketball next season. The schools are leaving the America East Conference and will give the CAA 10 members.

Louis Orr, who left Siena, was introduced as Seton Hall’s new coach. . . . Mississippi Coach Rod Barnes signed a four-year contract extension with the school. . . . Bruiser Flint, who resigned at Massachusetts after a 15-15 season, has taken the Drexel coaching job. . . . Danny Nee, fired a year ago by Nebraska, left Robert Morris after one season to replace Darelle Porter as Duquesne’s coach. . . . Buzz Peterson, who spent one season at Tulsa, was introduced as the new coach at Tennessee, replacing Jerry Green, who was forced out after four 20-victory seasons.

Football

NFL owners will vote on realignment at the end of May, setting up the format of eight four-team divisions when the Houston Texans enter the league in 2002 as the 32nd team. Instead of calling a special meeting for early May, the league has extended the meetings scheduled for May 22-23 in Chicago for an extra day to take care of realignment. . . . Safety Jay Bellamy, who played seven seasons for the Seattle Seahawks, has signed a four-year deal with the New Orleans Saints. . . . The Cincinnati Bengals re-signed cornerback Artrell Hawkins, a restricted free agent, to a one-year contract. . . . The Tennessee Titans finalized a six-year contract with former St. Louis Ram defensive end Kevin Carter. . . . Linebacker Doug Colman, who has played for the Titans, New York Giants and and Cleveland Browns, signed with the New York Jets.

Hawaii Coach June Jones has returned to work for the first time since he was critically injured in a car crash in February. Jones first stopped by his office during spring break last week and has since increased his workload to part-time status, Hawaii defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. . . . Oregon will be without two of its fullbacks next season. Adam Kennybrew, a junior from Beverly Hills High, gave up football for medical reasons and freshman Dee White transferred to another school for “personal reasons.” . . . The University of Kentucky has received a preliminary letter of inquiry from the NCAA regarding possible violations by the school’s football program. . . . Florida State kicker Matt Munyon will not be allowed to practice until he’s cleared physically after a seizure put him in the hospital. A police report said the sophomore kicker from Panama City, Fla., was “treated as a GHB overdose,” and that marijuana was detected in a urine sample taken last week. But no charges have been made.

Miscellany

A bid to bring the 2004 U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials to Anaheim is scheduled to be announced today by the Los Angeles Sports Council and the Arrowhead Pond.

Two pole vaulters on Florida’s track and field team were arrested in Gainesville, Fla., on charges they burglarized concession stands at the track and baseball stadiums. University police said they were Michael Hissam, 23, a senior from Savannah, Ga., and Brian DaCunha, 20, a sophomore from Lake Worth.

Horse racing is to resume in Ireland on April 16 after being suspended for more than a month because of the foot-and-mouth disease sweeping Britain.

Anna Kournikova was the first player selected in the World Team Tennis marquee draft, picked by the St. Louis Aces for the season that runs from July 9-29.