Three Coaches Are Out of Work

Mississippi’s David Cutcliffe and Indiana’s Gerry DiNardo were fired and Brigham Young’s Gary Crowton resigned on Wednesday.

Cutcliffe’s team struggled to a 4-7 season, his first losing season in six years at Mississippi.

Cutcliffe, who had a record of 44-29, declined to discuss specifics of his dismissal, which came after two days of meetings with Athletic Director Pete Boone and Chancellor Robert Khayat. But Boone said Cutcliffe refused to submit a written plan to fix problems within the program, including improving a defense that consistently ranked among the Southeastern Conference’s worst.

“He preferred the status quo, keeping things how they are,” Boone said. “I didn’t hear a plan to make that better.”

DiNardo guided the Hoosiers to a 3-8 season that ended with a 63-24 loss to in-state rival Purdue. DiNardo’s three-year record was 8-27.

Fred Eichhorn, president of the school’s board of trustees, said that record and declining attendance were factors in the decision to fire DiNardo. “If you’ve got a problem, you don’t continue the problem,” Eichhorn said.

Crowton was hired to replace LaVell Edwards after the 2000 season and the Cougars finished 12-2 in his first season. Then came three losing seasons in a row.

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Peach Bowl officials announced that Florida would play the loser of Saturday’s Miami-Virginia Tech game in the Dec. 31 game in the Georgia Dome.... Fresno State accepted a bid to play Virginia in the MPC Computers Bowl on Dec. 27 in Boise, Idaho.

Outgoing Florida Coach Ron Zook met with Illinois Athletic Director Ron Guenther on Wednesday in Gainesville, Fla., to discuss the Illini opening, the Champaign (Ill.) News-Gazette reported.... The fallout from Arkansas’ 5-6 season began when Coach Houston Nutt announced that defensive coordinator Dave Wommack had been fired. The Razorbacks gave up 397.2 yards a game.... The Greenville (S.C.) News reported that Clemson has fired offensive coordinator Mike O’Cain and defensive coordinator John Lovett.

Oklahoma’s Jason White won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the best senior quarterback.... Former Oklahoma defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek could be reinstated to the team if he is awarded an extra year of eligibility, Coach Bob Stoops said. Dvoracek, a senior, was dismissed from the team in September after an incident in a bar. He would have to seek a medical hardship in order to gain an extra season of eligibility because he played in two games this fall.... Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione said the Sooners would play Florida State in a two-game, home-and-home series in 2010 and 2011.