Boilermakers hire Kent State’s Hazell

Athletic director Morgan Burke wants Purdue back in the Rose Bowl, and he’s willing to put his money on Darrell Hazell to get there.

After a whirlwind week of speculation, Burke ended the chatter by introducing the 48-year-old New Jersey native as the Boilermakers’ head coach Wednesday.

“We did it because we want to get back to Pasadena,” Burke said.

Hazell is a disciplined student of the game who spent seven seasons as the receivers coach at Ohio State under Jim Tressel.

In Hazell’s first year, the Golden Flashes went 5-7 in 2011. Kent State delivered on that promise this season, finishing 11-2 (8-0 MAC) for the school’s first winning season since 2001. Kent State was picked for the Jan. 6 GoDaddy.com Bowl, where it will face Arkansas State with Hazell on the sideline.

“I had two goals when I went to Kent State,” Hazell said. “One was to win a MAC championship, and the other was to go to a bowl game, so this is too big to miss.”

Quick kicks

Former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema says he won’t coach the Badgers in the Rose Bowl. Athletic director Barry Alvarez has a news conference scheduled today and there’s speculation he’ll return to the sideline when the Badgers play Stanford on Jan. 1. … Cincinnati coach Butch Jones denied he has agreed to become the football coach at Colorado. … Florida International fired Mario Cristobal nearly two weeks after FIU finished an injury-filled season 3-9. … California WR Keenan Allen will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft. … South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney has won the 2012 Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end. … Kansas State QB Collin Klein is the AP Big 12 offensive player of the year. … Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert has won the John Mackey Award that goes to college football’s best tight end.