Kragthorpe is headed to Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville introduced Steve Kragthorpe as its new football coach Tuesday, less than 48 hours after Bobby Petrino left for the NFL.

Tulsa's Kragthorpe and Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich agreed to a five-year, $1.1-million per year deal that runs through the 2012 season. The contract was approved by the Louisville Athletic Association's Board of Directors on Tuesday afternoon.

"This truly is a destination for us," said Kragthorpe, 29-22 in four seasons at Tulsa, at a news conference. "There's no question that we feel like this is a place that we've come to stay."

The deal caps a whirlwind courtship. Jurich said he flew to Oklahoma on Monday night to interview Kragthorpe. On Tuesday morning, Kragthorpe and his family joined Jurich for the plane trip back to Louisville.

"We might have just completed the shortest search in the history of the NCAA," Jurich said. "I thought we needed to move quickly."

It wasn't fast enough to keep running back Michael Bush, though. Bush, who broke his right leg in September, said Tuesday he planned to enter the NFL draft.

Junior quarterback Brian Brohm has until Jan. 15 to decide whether to bypass his senior year and join Bush in the draft. Brohm is expected to meet with Kragthorpe in the next few days before making a decision.

BSU TO GET STADIUM EXPANSION: Fresh off a perfect 13-0 season and victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, Boise State University has been given approval by the state Board of Education to fix up Bronco Stadium.

Construction on a $35.9 million project to replace the cramped press box and add luxury suites at the stadium could be the first piece of a major expansion to the 30,000-seat stadium, where Boise State has lost just twice since 2001. The addition of suites, club sections and loge boxes will add about 2,000 seats, increasing the stadium's capacity to 32,000.

SABAN NAMES 3 ASSISTANTS: New Alabama coach Nick Saban has hired three assistant coaches.

Kirby Smart, Kevin Steele and Lance Thompson joined his staff Tuesday, but Saban hadn't assigned them titles or duties.

Smart spent last season as the Miami Dolphins' safeties coach under Saban. Steele coached Baylor from 1999-02 and spent the last four seasons as linebackers coach at Florida State. Thompson spent the last three years as defensive coordinator at Central Florida.

RICE GIVES GRAHAM EXTENSION: Rice extended football coach Todd Graham's contract through 2012 for leading the Owls to their first bowl game in 45 years in his first season.