
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 9, 1994                   TAG: 9404090092
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PURNELL NAMED DAYTON COACH

Oliver Purnell, who guided Old Dominion to postseason tournaments in each of his three seasons and also coached at Radford University, was chosen as head coach at Dayton on Friday.

Purnell, 40, replaces Jim O'Brien, who was fired last month after winning only 10 games in his final two seasons. As head coach at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Purnell posted a 57-33 record.

Purnell said he will sign a six-year contract with Dayton, but he declined to disclose terms. Dayton had courted then-Siena College (N.Y.) coach Mike Deane, but Deane accepted the head post at Marquette University.

Purnell played for Old Dominion from 1972-75, leading the Monarchs to the 1975 NCAA Division II national championship. He was a sixth-round draft choice of the Milwaukee Bucks.

He returned to Old Dominion as a graduate assistant coach in 1975. In 1985, Purnell became an assistant coach at the University of Maryland before accepting the head coaching job at Radford University in 1988. In three Seasons at Radford, he posted a 44-42 mark.

by CNB