WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Jim Crews was hired as the basketball coach at Army on Wednesday, leaving Evansville after a 7-21 season in his 16th year at the school.

Crews replaces Pat Harris, the Army coach since 1997. Army went 12-16 and 6-8 in the Patriot League, and athletic director Rick Greenspan said March 4 his contract would not be renewed.

Greenspan said Crews brings "instant credibility" to Army basketball.

Crews had a record of 294-209 at Evansville, guiding the Purple Aces to the NCAA tournament in 1989, 1992, 1993 and 1999. He was the Missouri Valley Conference coach of the year in 1999.

This season was one of the worst in school history, with Evansville finishing last in its conference with a 4-14 record.

The 47-year-old Crews played on Indiana's 1976 NCAA championship team and was an assistant coach at Indiana under Bob Knight for eight years before being hired at Evansville in 1985.

Evansville, a private school with about 2,200 students, this year considered dropping out of Division I because of rising costs. The university this month said it would remain in the NCAA's top division.