West Virginia hires North Texas coach Ross Hodge on 5-year deal

West Virginia is hiring North Texas coach Ross Hodge on a five-year contract, the school announced Wednesday.

Hodge is 46-23 through two seasons with North Texas. The Mean Green are competing in the National Invitational Tournament and will face either UC Irvine or UAB in the semifinals April 1. Hodge will continue to coach North Texas in the NIT, a source told CBS Sports' Matt Norlander.

"It is with great honor and humility that I accept the head men's basketball coaching position at West Virginia University," Hodge said in a statement. "I have such respect for the toughness, grit and pride of the people of West Virginia, and my hope is that we can reflect that with how our team competes on the court. I understand the great responsibility of continuing the tradition of Mountaineer basketball and sincerely appreciate the trust and belief of (athletic director) Wren Baker, presidents (Gordon) Gee and (Michael) Benson and the rest of the administration."

The 44-year-old has spent more than 20 years as an assistant coach, including stints at Colorado State and Arkansas State. He joined North Texas as associate head coach in 2017 and was elevated to head coach in 2023.

Baker previously held the same position at North Texas while Hodge was on Grant McCasland's bench.

Hodge is replacing Darian DeVries, who left to fill Indiana's vacancy after just one season with the Mountaineers. He became the top target after Ben McCollum and Richard Pitino were hired by Iowa and Xavier, respectively.