Floyd returns to school

The University of Texas El Paso will introduce former USC coach Tim Floyd as their new head coach at a news conference at 6 p.m. today.

Multiple sources say that Floyd was the front-runner for the job and a favorite among UTEP boosters to replace former Miners coach Tony Barbee.

Barbee left the Miners to coach at Auburn, not before leading the team to a Conference-USA regular season title and a first-round NCAA tournament appearance.

This will be the second coaching stint for Floyd at UTEP.  He first served as an assistant coach under Don Haskins from 1978-86.

His coaching career also included stops at Idaho, Iowa, and in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls sans-Michael Jordan and the New Orleans Hornets.

After his stint in the NBA, Floyd returned to the college ranks and took the head coaching job at USC in 2005.

While with the Trojans, Floyd compiled an 85-50 record and coached the team to a Pac-10 tournament title in 2009.

Amid allegations and rumors of NCAA violations regarding recruiting rules following the 2009 campaign, Floyd stepped down from his position at USC.

Floyd met with the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions in February.  USC conducted its own investigation into the alleged violations and ultimately decided to self-impose sanctions on the basketball program.

The NCAA committee is expected to make a decision sometime within the next month.

Multiple sources told ESPN.com that UTEP was assured Floyd would not be individually penalized for his alleged NCAA violations at USC.