Wed Apr 2 11:54:28 2008

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Crean takes over at Indiana

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Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - Indiana University introduced Tom Crean as its new men's basketball coach on Wednesday.

Crean left Marquette after nine successful seasons and signed an eight-year deal with Indiana that will pay him $2.3 million per year.

"It's Indiana. It's Indiana," said Crean about why he left Marquette. "That is the bottom line. I wouldn't have left [Marquette] if I didn't feel this was the absolute pinnacle of college basketball."

Crean compiled a record of 190-96 at Marquette, including a 25-10 record this past season. The Golden Eagles reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to Stanford in overtime.

Marquette earned five NCAA Tournament bids during Crean's tenure, highlighted by a Final Four appearance in 2003. It was the first Final Four run for the Golden Eagles since the 1977 team captured the national championship.

The move also marks a return to the Big Ten for Crean, who was an assistant under Tom Izzo at Michigan State for four seasons before taking the Marquette job.

"I remember so much of living in Michigan and being a Big Ten fan," Crean stated about his upbringing. "I remember so much of watching Indiana play."

Crean will take over a program that faces NCAA sanctions in the wake of violations under Kelvin Sampson's watch this season. Sampson was forced to resign in February and Dan Dakich took over on an interim basis as the Hoosiers finished a 25-8 campaign with a loss to Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

"It's probably going to be a bigger challenge than I realize," Crean noted about potential sanctions against the program. "We want to build a program that the people of Indiana can be proud of, both on and off the basketball court."

Crean was also an assistant at Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky.