BOISE, Idaho -- Greg Graham, an assistant coach who helped lead the University of Oregon to the Elite Eight this year, was named head basketball coach at Boise State on Wednesday.

Graham replaces Rod Jensen, who was fired March 8 after the second losing season in three years. He is the sixth head coach in Boise State's 34 years as a four-year school.

Graham, 46, was the top assistant on Oregon head coach Ernie Kent's staff in Eugene.

The Ducks won the Pacific 10 Conference regular-season championship and advanced to the finals of the Midwest Region before falling to Kansas 104-86 on Sunday.

Graham was the third candidate to interview for the Boise State job. Gonzaga assistant Bill Grier and Cal State-San Bernardino head coach Larry Reynolds also had been on campus.

In announcing the move, Boise State Athletic director Gene Bleymaier called Graham the "offensive guru of Oregon" who brings an up-tempo game.

Graham said he would emphasize offense, breaking from a long and sometimes controversial tradition at Boise State. Jensen was known as the "Minister of Defense" during 12 years as an assistant under previous head coach Bobby Dye before replacing him as head coach in August 1995.

"I know this has always been a defensive team, and that's going to be a little different," Graham said. "We're going to get up and down the floor -- it's going to go a lot faster."

Bleymaier said Graham will get a four-year contract with a base salary of $115,000 a year, plus $40,000 for media appearances.

Bleymaier said more than 100 people showed interest in the Boise State job, and more than 50 candidates from throughout the country applied.

Graham said he appreciated the chance to come to Boise.

"This is a great situation for myself, our style of play. I think this community offers a lot of things I was looking for," he said.

Prior to his five years at Oregon and five years as an assistant at St. Mary's College in California, Graham was an assistant coach at New Mexico, San Jose State and San Diego State. He was head coach at Western New Mexico in 1984-1985, and lead the team to an 18-5 record.

Boise State finished 13-17 last season and finished seventh in its first Western Athletic Conference season. The Broncos ended their season with a 72-53 loss at Tulsa in the WAC tournament quarterfinals.