Sutton to be interim replacement for Evans at San Francisco
Gore-Mann added she or someone from her staff would be traveling with the team regularly in the near future to "lend my support to the student-athletes and to assist interim coach Sutton in any way I can."
Sutton held his teleconference from an office at Oklahoma State while his son, Sean, was conducting practice downstairs. He acknowledged he did not like the way his career ended at OSU and that part of this decision is about wanting to leave the sport under different circumstances.
"I certainly didn't want to end my coaching career the way it ended here," Sutton said before later calling his drinking problems a "thing of the past."
"As a recovering alcoholic you have to work on that every day," he said. "I still attend meetings."
Gore-Mann said she "took coach Sutton at his word."
Sutton said he spoke to Gore-Mann a couple of days ago about the possibility of coming to USF if the job opened. Yet Gore-Mann said she didn't know what Evans would do until Wednesday, before adding that she would consider Sutton beyond this season if he were interested in staying.
"When I was talking to coach Sutton before, it was more a long-term basis," she said of their previous talks. "I would always consider him. I think it would be what he would be ready to commit to. I think it's an audition for USF athletics."
So, in a bizarre turn of events for both sides, Sutton committed to coach the Dons without even a campus visit -- and negotiated his contract over the phone. He was scheduled to meet his team in Salt Lake City on Thursday, and said he would lean heavily on his assistant coaches at first. He hoped to get one practice in with his team before Friday's game.
"I would say it's the toughest challenge that I've ever had," Sutton said. "I've had challenges before, but I'm looking forward to meeting the young men and trying to turn the season around."
Evans, who had been under careful watch by Gore-Mann over the past year, was in his fourth season at USF (4-8). He was hired from Louisiana-Lafayette in April 2004 to replace fired coach Phil Mathews.
This month, the NCAA suspended Dons senior forward Vince Polakovic for 24 games stemming from his participation with a German national team in 2004. The school said at the time that several members from the German national team received stipends deemed by the NCAA "above actual and necessary expenses." San Francisco contended that Polakovic wasn't among those players who received payments and said it would appeal the suspension.
When asked if the suspension and Evans' departure had a connection, Gore-Mann said, "No, they do not."
Evans coached on Lute Olson's staff at Arizona from 1988-97 and also worked as an assistant at Minnesota, Texas, Wyoming, and San Diego State before joining the Arizona staff. He helped lead the Wildcats to a 25-9 record and a national title in his ninth and final season with Arizona.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
