Long out as Kansas athletic director

Kansas athletic director Jeff Long resigned Wednesday, less than two days after the school mutually parted with Les Miles amid sexual misconduct allegations dating to the football coach’s time at LSU and one day after Long vowed he would lead the Jayhawks’ search for a replacement.

Kurt Watson will serve as the interim athletic director as the school searches for both an AD and football coach.

“We will immediately begin our search for a new athletics director. I will lead the process with the assistance of a search firm and four alumni advisors, each of whom have experience in collegiate athletics,” Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod said in a statement. “My hope is to have a new athletics director in place within the next few weeks.”

Girod said the new athletic director will take control of the football coaching search.

“I understand time is of the essence and that our football student-athletes are eager to know who will be guiding them,” he said. “But we are making long-term decisions on an athletics director and a football coach, and we cannot sacrifice the quality of a search simply for expediency. While there will be a lot of speculation regarding potential candidates for both searches, I urge Jayhawks to have faith in the process and in those who are devoting their time to assist.”

Aggies reschedule spring drills: Texas A&M will start spring drills on March 29, and the annual spring game has been pushed back a week to April 24.

A&M coach Jimbo Fisher originally had planned on starting spring drills on March 22, following a shortened spring break for A&M students, but that will now be a week later. No reason was given for the changes.