Boston College hires UConn assistant Luke Murray, son of actor Bill Murray, as basketball coach

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (AP) - Boston College hired UConn assistant Luke Murray on Thursday as coach of a slumping men's basketball program that has gone 17 years without an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Murray, the son of actor Bill Murray, will be a first-time head coach. He replaces Earl Grant, who was fired earlier this month after the Eagles had a losing record in four of his five seasons. Grant went 72-92 overall and 30-67 in Atlantic Coast Conference games.

In five years with UConn under coach Dan Hurley, Murray has been a part of two national championship teams, with Bill Murray often in attendance at games. The Huskies play Michigan State on Friday in the Sweet 16.

"In Luke Murray, we have found a leader who does not just understand the modern landscape of college basketball, he has helped define it," Boston College athletic director Blake James said. "His role in building a national championship caliber program, his sophisticated offensive vision, and his relentless pursuit of excellence make him the perfect fit."

Prior to UConn, Murray spent three years each as an assistant at Louisville and Xavier. He also had stints on staffs at Towson, Wagner, Arizona, Post and Quinnipiac. The 2007 graduate of Fairfield will be the 14th head coach in Boston College program history.

The Eagles have been buried in the supersized ACC for more than a decade, with a 10th-place finish in 2022-23 their highest since the league expanded from 12 to 15 teams in the 2013-14 season. They were second-to-last in the newly expanded 18-team conference in each of the last two years.