Kent State basketball coach Stan Heath is the No. 1 choice for the head-coaching job at Arkansas -- and may have moved into a similar position for the job at West Virginia, according to ESPN.com's Andy Katz.

Heath, a first-year coach who led the Golden Flashes to the Elite Eight, inteviewed at Arkansas on Tuesday and impressed the search committee. He then interviewed at West Virginia on Wednesday.

	Kent State coach Stan Heath hugs Trevor Huffman after a Golden Flash victory recently.

Heath would choose Arkansas over West Virginia if both jobs were offered and the deals were of similar value, sources close to the coach said.

Razorback athletic director Frank Broyles said Tuesday night that he wants to accelerate his timetable for hiring someone to replace fired coach Nolan Richardson.

Arkansas State University coach Dickey Nutt was at Arkansas on Tuesday for an interview. Nutt is the brother of Arkansas football coach Houston Nutt.

Heath's assistant coaches at Kent State are waiting to be told what school shirt to wear at the Final Four -- those of Arkansas, West Vriginia or Kent State. They do not expect to be wearing Golden Flashes colors, however.

Wyoming coach Steve McClain has also interviewed at Arkansas.

Heath, a former Michigan State assistant, led Kent State to its deepest run in NCAA Tournament history. It was the furthest any MAC team has ever advanced.

Arkansas stepped up its search last week after president Alan Sugg upheld the buyout of former coach Nolan Richardson.

The Razorbacks have interviewed a handful of candidates including Wyoming's Steve McClain. Illinois coach Bill Self's name has surfaced again as a candidate for the job, but Self told ESPN.com on Wednesday that he is not interested and is remaining at Illinois. He is expected to meet with Illinois officials about an extension in the coming weeks.

West Virginia began a new search Monday after Cincinnati coach and Mountaineer alum Bob Huggins decided to remain with the Bearcats.

"I gave Frank Broyles permission to talk with coach Heath," Kent State athletic director Laing Kennedy said on Tuesday.

Heath and his wife flew to Fayetteville on Tuesday and Broyles took them on a tour of Walton Arena. Heath declined to comment on his visit.

Heath, 36, just finished his first year at Kent State. The 10th-seeded Golden Flashes (30-6) advanced to the finals of the NCAA South Regional before losing to Indiana 81-69.

During their run, the Golden Flashes beat Oklahoma State 69-61, Alabama 71-58 and Pittsburgh 78-73 in a game that went into overtime.

Kennedy said other schools also have inquired about Heath and he was not surprised because of Kent State's NCAA showing. He said Heath does a "great job on and off the court."

He said that Heath has four years left on a contract that was being amended and that the school plans to put other resources into the program.

"Taking us to the Elite Eight has just been awesome for Kent State," he said. "We want to continue to be at this level with or without coach Heath."

McClain flew into Fayetteville on Monday night and was picked up by Broyles.

McClain, whose Cowboys finished 22-9 this year and upset Gonzaga in the first round of the NCAA tournament, removed himself Friday from consideration for the head coaching job at Texas Christian.

McClain, 39, was a TCU assistant for four years before going to Wyoming in 1998. He declined to say whether he was offered the job at TCU, but did say he would not rule out switching jobs, provided the team is a Top 25 program.

McClain's seven-year contract extension goes into effect May 1. Including incentives, the contract allows him to make up to $560,000 a year, making him one of the two highest-paid coaches in the Mountain West Conference.

McClain could still get out of his contract after May 1 but would have to be bought out.

Broyles has said he hoped to hire a coach by April 8. Tuesday, he said he hoped to name a coach sooner.

Richardson was fired after making comments that administrators found damaging to the basketball program. Last week, university system President B. Alan Sugg upheld Arkansas Chancellor John White's decision to release Richardson. He said the coach had said privately and publicly that he wanted to be bought out for the last six years of his seven-year contract.

A search committee interviewed Richardson assistant Mike Anderson and Arkansas-Little Rock coach Porter Moser on Monday. Broyles had promised Anderson the first interview and the Moser interview might have been nothing more than a courtesy call. Arkansas-Little Rock (18-11) is a sister school to the Fayetteville campus.

Oklahoma State assistant Sean Sutton was supposed to be interviewed on Tuesday, but he was ill. Like Anderson, Sutton is an assistant and Broyles has emphasized the need for someone with head coaching experience.

Broyles, committee chairman Tommy Boyer and some committee members plan to be in Atlanta this weekend for the NCAA Final Four and could interview coaches without attracting much attention. Virtually every coach in the country is expected for the games and the National Association of Basketball Coaches convention.

"I would hope we'd interview the people in Atlanta and have a recommendation of two people, ranking them one-two, and have them come to the full committee and make a decision," Broyles said.

Others mentioned in speculation about the Arkansas job included Western Kentucky coach Dennis Felton, Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson, Illinois coach Bill Self, Duke assistant Johnny Dawkins and Tennessee Tech coach Jeff Lebo.

Some names may have surfaced as wishful thinking and some may have been floated by the coaches looking for a raise.

In late February, Felton agreed to a seven-year contract extension.

Dawkins was in Durham, N.C., on Tuesday, according to Duke sports information director Jon Jackson, and was not expected to interview.

Information from the Associated Press is included in this report