OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Ray Harper resigned Wednesday as the coach at NAIA Division I champion Oklahoma City University, apparently to pursue job opportunities at a major college basketball program.
Oklahoma City athletic director Jim Abbott confirmed that Harper had resigned and said “he has more than one opportunity to go to another school,” both of which Abbott said are NCAA Division I schools.
Abbott said he couldn’t reveal which schools those might be. The voice mailbox on Harper’s cell phone was full and he did not immediately return a page left on that phone Wednesday night by The Associated Press.
“What I know is he is resigning as our head coach to kind of further his career,” Abbott said.
Several newspapers, citing unidentified sources, have reported that Harper is a candidate to be an assistant coach at Western Kentucky or the head coach at Western Illinois.
Harper is a native of Bremen, Ky., and spent nine seasons at his alma mater, Kentucky Wesleyan, before taking the Oklahoma City job before the 2005-06 season. He guided Kentucky Wesleyan to NCAA Division II titles in 1999 and 2001.
He went 95-17 with Oklahoma City, which reached the NAIA title game in each of his three seasons at the school. The Stars lost 67-65 on a buzzer-beater to Texas Wesleyan in 2006, but rebounded to beat Concordia (Calif.) 79-71 in 2007 and Mountain State (W.Va.) 75-72 this season.
Harper’s overall career record is 337-62.
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