ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Ritchie McKay accepted a five-year deal to become New Mexico's basketball coach, leaving Oregon State after only two seasons to direct his father's alma mater.

		Fri., March 29 New Mexico senior associate AD Bill McGillis used the term "completely false" in response to reports that the head coaching job was offered to Arizona State's Rob Evans before Oregon State's Ritchie McKay got the job. But according to those close to Evans, McGillis is "completely false" in his statement, considering Evans told his staff and his AD that he was offered the job. The Phoenix, Albuquerque and national media picked up on that, including ESPN.com, which stands by its story. New Mexico is covering itself after getting turned down three times prior to making the pitch to Evans. McKay was the fifth choice. Katz's Daily Word

McKay, in Atlanta for the Final Four, met with New Mexico athletic director Rudy Davalos on Thursday night to finalize the contract worth up to $500,000 a year.

McKay, 22-37 in two seasons at Oregon State, replaces Fran Fraschilla, who resigned March 17.

"I've loved this program for a long, long time and hopefully you won't have to worry about when the next coach is going to be here because I think if we do the job right we'll be here for a long time," McKay said.

His late father, Joe, played for the Lobos from 1960-63.

"He would have been certainly very proud to see his son coaching at his alma mater," he said. "He loved the Lobos and this basketball program."

Davalos first met with McKay a week ago.

"On Monday, we started serious discussions with him," senior associate athletics director Bill McGillis said. "Those talks continued all week. We talked at least twice a day since Monday."

What attracted Davalos were the qualities that showed through McKay's players, especially those at Colorado State.

"We had a chance to witness him up close when he was at Colorado State," McGillis said. "His team played very hard. They were very disciplined. They played with a lot of passion."

McKay will receive a base salary of $175,000. McGillis said radio and television incomes and other incentives will make the contract worth $500,000 a year.

New Mexico agreed to buy out McKay's Oregon State contract at a cost of $225,000, Davalos said.

Oregon State athletic director Mitch Barnhart said that while he is happy for McKay, he's sorry for Oregon State.

"I thought he did some things that laid a solid foundation for our program to grow from," Barnhart said. "I feel bad for the players. It's a tough transition."

Fraschilla did not have a losing season in his three years in Albuquerque. But the 18-14, 21-13 and 16-14 records fell well short of what Lobos fans and the school expected.