Sports

Grand Canyon hires Pennell as basketball coach

PHOENIX — Former Arizona coach Russ Pennell has been hired as the men’s basketball coach at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

Pennell led the Wildcats to a 21-14 record and their 25th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance while serving as interim coach this season. He took over just before the season began when Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson retired for health reasons.

Grand Canyon University announced Pennell’s hiring on Thursday. The private Christian university competes at the NCAA Division II level but has plans to build a 6,000-seat arena and move up to Division I in basketball.

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