Howland going to California

Proven players, a brand new arena and more money in the contract. So what does UCLA have that… Proven players, a brand new arena and more money in the contract. So what does UCLA have that Pitt doesn’t?

Perhaps tradition and the chance to coach close to home.

No matter what the reason, Ben Howland has decided that Los Angeles is the place for him.

According to a report Tuesday on The Los Angeles Times’ Web site, Howland has agreed in principle to a contract to become the Bruins’ new head coach and will be introduced as soon he meets with the school’s chancellor, Albert Carnesale.

A source that spoke with Howland and UCLA athletics director Dan Guerrero told The Los Angeles Times that the coach said that he was leaving Pitt and should be arriving in Los Angeles sometime Tuesday night.

Pitt officials attempted to keep Howland from leaving Monday, offering a new contract that would increase his salary to $1.1 million a year until 2009, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Under his current contract, Howland made $800,000 a year and included a buyout clause of $700,000 that UCLA would have to pay if the coach were to leave.

The move comes less than a week after Pitt lost in the Sweet Sixteen for the second year in a row. Prior to that game, Howland’s stance on the possibilities of being offered the UCLA job was drastically different.

“I’m really happy here. We have a great situation,” he said in late February. “I fully expect to fulfill [my] contract and hopefully the rest of my career beyond that here.”

But in the past few weeks, Howland described the UCLA coaching position as his “dream job” and that it was an honor to be considered for the position.

“Given that my family roots are in California and my parents live there, I felt compelled to look at this potential opportunity,” Howland said in a statement released Monday. “It would take an extraordinary set of circumstances for me to leave [Pitt].”

Howland would be replacing Steve Lavin, who was fired last month after leading UCLA to its first losing season in 55 years, and would become the eighth head coach since the legendary John Wooden lead the Bruins to 10 national championships from 1964-1975.

Pitt also faces a tough decision on who will replace Howland as its head coach. The top choice might be Jamie Dixon, Howland’s assistant coach and top recruiter.

However, much like Howland was four years ago, Dixon is unproven as a head coach and is being courted by Wright State and Illinois State to fill their coaching vacancies.

The Panthers reached the Sweet Sixteen for just the third time in school history this season and won their first Big East tournament title. Howland’s 89-40 record at Pitt is the best during any four-year period in school history.