Kent State head coach Darrell Hazell accepts Purdue job

Kent State head football coach Darrell Hazell announced Wednesday morning that he has accepted the Purdue University coaching job.

Hazell said at a news conference that he was offered the job at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and accepted it at 9 p.m.

Purdue has given Hazell permission to coach the Flashes when they play Arkansas State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Alabama on Jan. 6, 2013. Hazell said he would "absolutely" like to coach that game and hopes a decision is made by the end of the day.

He said he met with the Kent State coaching staff and team early this morning to inform them of his decision.

“I think for the most part they are happy for me but it’s a hard time,” Hazell said.

In terms of the process, Hazell said he spoke with Purdue three times, a phone conversation last week and then again Monday and Tuesday.

At the end of his news conference, Hazell received applause from the media members in attendance.

Hazell will replace Danny Hope, who was fired after going 22-27 in four years with the Boilermakers.

Kent State reached No. 17 in the BCS standings, the best in school history, before losing to Northern Illinois 44-37 in double overtime in the MAC Championship game. They finished the regular season ranked No. 25 in the BCS standings.