After four years as president of Utah State University, Kermit Hall will become head of New York's state university at Albany.

State University of New York system officials made the announcement Wednesday after a unanimous vote by the SUNY Board of Trustees.

"If I feel any real regret, it's leaving the students behind," Hall told the Deseret Morning News while he was in New York. "I think it's a fabulous group of students."

Hall plans to start by Feb. 1, 2005, as president of the 17,000-student school, where he will earn $280,000 a year from the state, plus a free residence and car.

The Albany campus is the third largest among four university research centers in New York and is one of 64 campuses within the SUNY system, considered the largest comprehensive university system in the country with more than 413,000 students.

A recently approved pay increase for presidents at the Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Stony Brook campuses may mean Hall could soon be paid as much as $339,200 a year, according to The Associated Press. His base salary at USU was $232,000.

Hall said he initially turned away offers four months ago to be included in the search to replace former UAlbany President Karen Hitchcock, who resigned in October 2003.

"This was no slam dunk," Hall said.

The sports metaphor comes from someone who is widely known for his administrative and academic accomplishments, which include being a dean, provost or president at four different universities. During that time he has continued to teach history or law. Hall has also written five books on the American legal system.

"He's recognized nationally as a real talent," said USU provost Stan Albrecht, who is a candidate to at least temporarily replace Hall. "It was just a matter of time and place."

Earlier this year Hall was a finalist for president at the University of Tennessee. Hall was not successful, and he called the search process there "tainted" and "flawed" after an anonymous letter writer attempted to smear Hall's reputation.

Albrecht and others here were not surprised this week to hear Hall had been named the new president at UAlbany.

Rich Kendell, commissioner of the Utah System of Higher Education, and State Board of Regents Chairman Nolan Karras said Wednesday in a press release they knew that someone with Hall's reputation would eventually leave Utah and that he will be missed.

Though few knew of Hall's interest in UAlbany, Hall said he had kept Kendell, Karras and Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie informed during the search in New York.

An interim president is expected to be named at USU within the next few weeks, in time for the 2005 Legislature.