Rumor has ex-Ute Rupp coaching at La. Tech

UAB assistant coach Kerry Rupp will be the next coach at Louisiana Tech, barring a breakdown in negotiations, multiple sources told CBSSportsLine.com on Friday.

An official announcement should come early next week.

Louisiana Tech officials declined comment.

Rupp is best known as the person who replaced Rick Majerus on an interim basis and led Utah to the 2004 Mountain West Conference title. Following that season he spent two years on Mike Davis' staff at Indiana and joined Davis at UAB for the 2006-07 campaign, but it's Rupp's Utah connection that played the biggest role in this move to Louisiana Tech.

Who's Louisiana Tech's most famous former player?

Karl Malone.

Where did Malone spend most of his NBA career?

In Utah.

See the connection?

Rupp is good friends with Malone, even serving as the director of the Karl Malone Basketball Camp. He's also been the co-executive director of the Karl Malone Foundation For Kids and was thus made the leading candidate Friday once Northwestern State's Mike McConathy removed his name from consideration for the Louisiana Tech job.

McConathy is a Louisiana Tech graduate.