Seven-year assistant coach Derrin Hansen will take over as the head coach of the University of Nebraska at Omaha men's basketball program for the 2005-06 season, Athletic Director David Herbster announced today. In addition, four-year assistant coach Kenya Crandell will become associate head coach and four-year part-time assistant Mitch Mosser will become a full-time assistant.

Hansen, 37, replaces four-year head coach Kevin McKenna who resigned July 1 to join the staff at Creighton University as an assistant coach. Hansen was named the interim head coach at that time.

"I'm very confident in Derrin's abilities as a head coach as well as his maturity and experience," Herbster said. "Regardless of the timing of this, I feel strongly that this is the best for our program, our players and our coaching staff."

Hansen, the interim head coach since McKenna's resignation, cannot be named the permanent head coach until next spring.

"While this must be a one-season appointment because of the timing, I have all the confidence in the world in this staff and what they can accomplish."

Hansen is a 1991 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University and began his coaching career as a student-assistant coach for the Plainsmen. As a player, his 1988 squad advanced to the Division III Final Four. As a student-coach, his 1990 squad advanced to the Final 16.

"I'm appreciative of the opportunity and that David has shown confidence in myself and this staff. We're very confident that we can continue the success of UNO basketball."

After graduating from Wesleyan, Hansen spent two years as the
basketball and track coach at Elmwood-Murdock High School in Murdock, Neb. He also taught health and physical education, weightlifting, and physiology at EMHS.

Hansen went on to Nebraska-Kearney for two years as a graduate assistant while earning his master's in physical education in the summer of 1995. That August Hansen was hired as the assistant basketball coach at Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte, Neb. At Mid-Plains CC, he was also the recruiting coordinator. Outside of basketball, he taught physical education classes and held the position of Intramural Director.

Along with his coaching responsibilities, Hansen is an instructor in UNO's school of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. He is married to the former Vicki Harris. The couple has two daughters, Abby and Erica.

Crandell, 31, is a 1996 graduate of Nebraska-Kearney and was a four-year starting guard for the Lopers. He scored 1,119 career points and set the school record with 525 career assists. The Omaha native was a graduate assistant coach at UNK from 1997-2000 and spent one year as a full-time assistant coach at Northern Colorado (2000-01) before joining the Maverick staff in June, 2001.

Mosser, 30, is a Ralston native and a 1998 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan where he was an All-American as a junior, helping lead the Plainsmen to the NCAA III title game. He is also the school's all-time assist leader. He joined the Maverick staff after one season as an assistant at Nebraska Wesleyan and earned his master's degree from UNO in 2004.

Last season UNO won the North Central Conference regular season title for a second straight year and finished the season in the NCAA II tournament with a 23-6 record.