Sources: Nutt to be named next Southeast basketball coach

Former Arkansas State coach Dickey Nutt will take over the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball program.

Sources close to the situation said Wednesday that Nutt will be introduced as Southeast's new coach during Thursday's scheduled 2 p.m. press conference at the Show Me Center.

Nutt, 49, spent 13 seasons as head coach at Arkansas State before resigning following a 9-17 record in 2007-08. Nutt's future at the school had been in question after receiving just a one-year contract in 2007.

Nutt, the brother of former Arkansas and current Mississippi football coach Houston Nutt, went 189-187 at ASU, including 102-101 in the Sun Belt Conference. He left ASU three victories short of the program's all-time wins record.

Nutt's best record at ASU was a 20-9 mark during his third year in 1997-98. His only NCAA tournament appearance came the following season, when ASU finished 18-12.

Nutt, who was not involved in coaching this year, has remained in Jonesboro, Ark., since leaving ASU. He has been host of a local television show that covers high school basketball and sources said he has cancelled his appearance on this Sunday's broadcast.

Southeast's new coach will take over a program coming off a turmoil-filled 3-27 season.

It started when coach Scott Edgar was placed on administrative leave Oct. 9 for alleged NCAA rules violations. Zac Roman, who worked as an assistant on Edgar's staff during the 2007-08 season, was named acting coach Oct. 16.

The university announced it was buying out Edgar's contract Dec. 31. Edgar, who had a base salary of $125,000, had 2 1/2 years left on the five-year deal he signed in April 2006. The university terminated Edgar's contract without cause, meaning it paid him about $325,000.

The Redhawks experienced little success this season. They finished 0-18 in the Ohio Valley Conference and ended the year on a 19-game losing streak that is the longest in the nation.

Southeast became just the seventh men's basketball team to go winless in the OVC.

Southeast has posted two winning seasons since the beginning of this decade -- 18-12 in 2000-01 and 15-14 in 2004-05. The program has a 93-163 record this decade and lost at least 20 games in each of the last four seasons.

Nutt was born in Arkansas but played college basketball at Oklahoma State and began his coaching career as an assistant at Stillwater High School before serving as an assistant at Oklahoma State from 1985 to 1987. Nutt was an assistant at Arkansas State from 1987 to 1995 before taking over as the head coach.

While his brother, Houston, is the noted football coach, another brother, Dennis Nutt, was the head coach at Southwest Texas State, now Texas State, for six seasons until 2006.