Dan Monson hired by Eastern Washington after leading Long Beach State to NCAA Tournament

Eastern Washington hired Dan Monson on Friday, the coach who led Long Beach State to the NCAA Tournament after the school told him he would be fired at the end of the season.

Monson, who also coached at Gonzaga and Minnesota, will take over an Eagles program that has won the last two Big Sky Conference regular-season titles.

The 62-year-old gained an unexpected level of notoriety and celebrity during March Madness for his unusual coaching situation.

“Throughout the search for our next men’s basketball coach, it was important, for us, to identify a head coach who represented this area,” Eastern Washington athletic director Tim Collins said in a statement. “While talking to (Dan), it became clear that this region matters as much to him as Eastern does to it.”