Frustrated fans now have what they asked for. Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn has resigned.

Dunn handed in his resignation yesterday morning to Athletic Director Tim Curley, signifying the end of his eight-year run as coach of the Nittany Lions.

Dunn spent part of Sunday in a season's-end evaluation meeting with Curley, and after the meeting Dunn asked for a day to think about the situation before ultimately making his final decision. Curley said that Dunn made the decision entirely by himself.

Dunn was not offered another job within the university or athletic department, Curley said. He had three years remaining on a five-year contract.

"This was a very difficult decision," Dunn said in a prepared statement.

"I am very appreciative of the opportunity Dr. [Graham] Spanier and Tim Curley gave me to become the head coach at Penn State. I have greatly enjoyed my association with Penn State," he said in the statement. "I would have liked to have had more success over the past two seasons, but I am proud of our efforts and what we have accomplished over the past eight years."

Dunn finished his eight seasons at Penn State with a record 117-121 including two trips to the NCAA tournament and two National Invitational Tournament semifinal appearances. His record in the Big Ten conference stands at 45-87.

Dunn is leaving the Penn State program as the only coach with a losing record. Dunn struggled through the past two seasons with back-to-back 7-21 campaigns after a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2001. His only other trip to the NCAA tournament was in his first season in 1995, when the Nittany Lions were upset in the first round by Arkansas, 86-80.

Dunn spoke with all of his player's one-on-one yesterday afternoon to tell them of his resignation, said junior forward Ndu Egekeze who was surprised by Dunn's decision.

"He kept encouraging me," Egekeze said of Dunn in their meeting. "He told me to keep on working hard."

Curley said that he will not forget the hard work that Dunn has given to the program over the past 20 years as both a coach and as an assistant coach from 1983 to 1995 under Bruce Parkhill.

"I always remember his tremendous dedication and loyalty to the program and the professionalism about the way he went about his job," Curley said. "He always had a positive attitude reacting to situations. ... I never saw a time when he sat around and moaned about anything."

Curley said a national search for the next coach will begin today, but he refused to pigeonhole any possible candidates by revealing any necessary criteria. Curley said that no timetable has been set for a replacement to be named. Egekeze said he hopes it could happen soon, but he realizes that is not usually possible.

The search will be headed by Curley in conjunction with NCAA Faculty Representative Scott Kretchmar, and no search group will be used initially. Kretchmar, Curley and the others internally involved are looking for a candidate who can bring continuous success to the basketball program.

"The immediate goals for this program is that we need to be consistently competitive," Curley said. "We need to be contenders each year for the NCAA tournament."

Egekeze was asked if players should have any input for who was going to be the next coach.

"No," he said, laughing. "I have faith in Mr. Curley's decisions. I know he'll find a way."

The finding begins now.