AMHERST, Mass. (AP) - University of Massachusetts basketball
coach Travis Ford is leaving the Amherst campus for the head
coaching job at Oklahoma State.

UMass athletic director John McCutcheon said at a news
conference tonight that Ford told him Monday afternoon he had been
contacted by the Cowboys. McCutcheon said he has never spoken withanyone from OSU.

He said Ford met with the UMass players this afternoon and they
responded in a "very positive fashion."

But he said "it still kind of hurts." Just last week, McCutcheon had announced that Ford intended to stay with the Minutemen.

Ford said in a statement it was "a very difficult decision" to
leave.

Ford turned down a job offer from Big East school Providence and
had also previously been linked to an opening at LSU.

Ford led UMass to a 25-11 record this season and lost the NIT
championship game to Ohio State.