Citing his 72.5% winning record, six trips...

Citing his 72.5% winning record, six trips to the Final Four and two national titles, Louisville gave Coach Denny Crum a four-year contract extension after a 13-20 season.

The extension will keep the 61-year-old Crum as the Cardinals’ coach through the 2001-02 season. Crum’s base annual salary will remain at $353,702, which includes TV and radio commitments.

He would get a $25,000 bonus if his team earns a collective grade-point average between 2.5 and 2.74 and a $40,000 bonus if the team scores 3.25 or higher.

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Alabama has reached a deal to hire Murray State Coach Mark Gottfried, a former Crimson Tide star and UCLA assistant, as its new coach, the Birmingham News reported. . . . New Mexico’s Dave Bliss withdrew from consideration for the head coaching job at Texas A&M;, saying his task with the Lobos was not completed. . . . Christy Smith made four free throws in the final 31 seconds, sending underdog Arkansas (22-10) to its first women’s Final Four with a 77-72 victory over Duke (24-8) on Monday night at Oakland. . . . Rose Agnoung scored 29 points and Union University of Tennessee ended Southern Nazarene’s string of four consecutive NAIA Division I women’s national titles with a 73-70 victory at Jackson, Tenn.