Eastern Kentucky, the reigning Ohio Valley Conference champs, named former West Virginia assistant Jeff Neubauer as the Colonels new head coach Monday.

Neubauer, who was the top assistant coach during the Mountaineers run to the elite eight, will take the reins over from Travis Ford, who took the head coaching spot at University of Massachusetts. Neubauer was an assistant under John Beilein at West Virginia for three seasons and coached with him at the University of Richmond for the previous five seasons.

Last season under Ford, Eastern Kentucky won a school record 22 games and made its first NCAA tournament appearance in 26 years.

Neubauer signed a four-year contract with Colonels, with an annual salary of $150,000.

Last week, Austin Peay announced its return scholarship football and to the OVC since leaving the conference in 1996.

The Governors said they will finish out the 2005 season in the Pioneer Football League, and, in 2006, they will introduce 30 scholarships to the program the following year.

With scholarship football back at Eastern Kentucky in 2006, The Colonels will be a 1-AA independent until 2007 when they will officially rejoin the OVC.

OVC football will then have 10 football participants of the 11 schools in the conference.