Report: Penders to be named head coach at Houston

According to the Houston Chronicle, Penders has agreed to a five-year contract with the Cougars and will be formally introduced at an evening press conference.

Penders has not coached since 2001 when he resigned from his position at George Washington citing burnout. However, there was also a scandal going on with the team involving his son, who was the assistant coach at the time, and four players.

The 58-year-old Penders succeeded Mike Jarvis in 1998 and compiled a 49-42 record in three seasons with the Colonials, including a first-round appearance in the NCAA tournament during the 1998-99 season.

For his career, which also included stops at Tufts, Columbia, Fordham, Rhode Island and Texas, Penders has a record of 527-361 in 30 years.

He led the Longhorns to eight berths in the NCAA Tournament over a 10-year span, while also guiding Rhode Island to the tournament.

Despite Penders’ success at Texas, his career there also ended in controversy. During his final season in 1997-98, he had a dispute with players, who complained about his coaching style. There were also allegations that he was involved in violating privacy laws regarding the release of player Luke Axtell’s academic records to an Austin radio station.

Houston was just 9-18 and 3-13 in Conference USA this year under head coach Ray MaCallum. The Cougars had three losing seasons in four years under McCallum, who was reassigned to other duties in the athletic department.