Former LSU interim head coach Benford hired as TCU assistant

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Tony Benford has been hired as an assistant men's basketball coach at TCU after finishing last season as interim head coach for LSU's run to the Sweet 16.

Horned Frogs coach Jamie Dixon announced the hiring Monday, saying he has known Benford for 30 years.

Benford was head coach at North Texas from 2012-17 before being an LSU assistant the past two years. He was part of Texas Tech's 1985 Southwest Conference championship as a player, and later was an assistant coach at Marquette, Nebraska, UTEP, Arizona State and New Mexico.

LSU reinstated head coach Will Wade two weeks ago. Wade missed the regular-season finale and the SEC and NCAA tournaments after the school suspended him following a Yahoo report about leaked excerpts of an FBI wiretap that captured Wade speaking with a person convicted of funneling illegal payments to the families of recruits.