Akron hired former Illinois coach John Groce as its replacement for Keith Dambrot to be its next men's basketball coach Wednesday.
Groce's deal is for six years, a source told ESPN's Jeff Goodman.
Dambrot left Akron to be the head coach at Duquesne. He had been the head coach at Akron from 2004 to 2017 and an assistant with the Zips since 2001.
Groce led Ohio, also a member of the Mid-American Conference, to the Sweet 16 in 2012 after four seasons with the Bobcats.