Reports: Wichita State assistant Steve Forbes will be named ETSU head coach

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Wichita State assistant Steve Forbes will take over the East Tennessee State program, according to multiple reports.

A former Tennessee assistant, Forbes had been considered the front-runner for the ETSU job. The Johnson City Press reported ETSU athletic director Richard Sander had preferred not to make an announcement until his top candidate's team had completed its season.

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Wichita State's NCAA Tournament run ended Thursday with an 81-70 loss to Notre Dame in the Sweet 16. Following the game, Forbes declined to comment to the Wichita Eagle on if he had taken the job.

Forbes is expected to be introduced at a news conference Monday.

He spent the last two years on Gregg Marshall's staff after spending the previous two as head coach at Northwest Florida State, a junior college he led to a 61-6 record in that span.

In addition to his time with Bruce Pearl at Tennessee, Forbes was also an assistant at Texas A&M, Illinois State, Louisiana Tech and Idaho. He has also been the head coach at Barton County (Kan.) Community College and Southwestern Community College back in his native Iowa. 

Forbes will replace Murry Bartow, who was fired earlier this month after 12 seasons at ETSU.

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Marc Lancaster is a senior editor at The Sporting News