Aug. 1, 2000

BERKELEY - Scott Beeten, who served as Cal's associate men's basketball coach the past three seasons, has accepted the head coaching position at the State University of New York at Albany.

Beeten replaces Scott Hicks, who left Albany in June to become head coach at Loyola College in Baltimore. He takes over a Great Dane program that was 11-17 last year in its first season in NCAA Division I.

"We're really excited for Scott to have the opportunity to be a head coach," said Cal head coach Ben Braun. "The last several years, he's worked very hard to get that opportunity. Wherever he's been, he's helped rebuild programs, taking them to very high levels. That's always been a strength of his. He has coaching experience, he's shown the ability to recruit, and he's a tireless worker. I think he'll have Albany knocking at the door to the postseason soon, because that's the way Scott is."

While at Cal, Beeten helped the Bears to the 1999 National Invitation Tournament title and to the quarterfinals of the 2000 NIT. During his tenure in Berkeley, Cal compiled a 52-41 record, including a 22-11 mark in 1998-99.

Prior to coming to Cal, Beeten was an assistant coach at George Washington for seven years and at Penn for five seasons. An East Coast native, Beeten graduated from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania in 1971 and also coached at Temple and in both the high school and college ranks in New Jersey.

Braun indicated that he plans to fill the vacancy on the Cal staff within the next few weeks.