Sports People

University of Memphis men’s basketball coach Larry Finch is ready to leave the university if a buyout of his contract can be arranged. Finch, who has three years left on his contract, is in his 11th year with the Tigers and has a 214-124 record. But the university has been upset with declining fan support. The Tigers are 10-9 this season.

Ohio State starting center Jermaine Tate will miss tonight’s basketball game against Indiana and is having tests on his heart. Tate, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, had been complaining about a rapid heartbeat. … Brian Himmler of Cincinnati rolled two perfect games to take the lead after the first six games of qualifying at the Professional Bowlers Association Columbia 300 Open at Austin, Texas. … Henry Akinwande of Tallahassee, Fla., relinquished the World Boxing Organization heavyweight title, his first step toward possibly gaining the World Boxing Council title. Akinwande is guaranteed a shot at the winner of next Friday’s bout between Lennox Lewis and Oliver McCall for the vacant WBC title.