NC Central basketball coach LeVelle Moton pulling his name from ECU search

N.C. Central basketball coach LeVelle Moton has removed himself from the East Carolina coaching search candidate pool, he said on Thursday.

ECU is searching for a coach to replace Jeff Lebo, who left the program in November.

“East Carolina is a great university,” Moton said, “but it’s best for me and my family that I remain at North Carolina Central.”

Moton has led the Eagles to the NCAA tournament three times in the past five years, including back-to-back trips the past two seasons. The Eagles won the MEAC tournament this season, then on March 14, the Eagles lost 64-46 to Texas Southern in the First Four of the NCAA tournament.

In nine years at his alma mater, Moton has won 171 games, good enough for third all-time in school history. Moton is 95-34 in the MEAC and 12-4 in the tournament.

After leading the Eagles to their first ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2014, Moton signed a contract extension that runs through 2022 with a base salary of $250,000.

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 10:34 AM with the headline "NC Central basketball coach LeVelle Moton pulling his name from ECU search."