Ron Hunter withdrew from consideration for the Ball State job Tuesday morning, telling ESPN.com he had decided to stay as the head coach at IUPUI.

Hunter was the front-runner for the Ball State opening. The position has been vacant for more than three weeks since Ronny Thompson resigned after an internal investigation discovered that he and his staff violated NCAA rules two years in a row by attending voluntary offseason workouts. The coaches also lied about their involvement in that infraction in May, the school has said.

On Monday, the NCAA asked Ball State to investigate more possible violations, including allegations that the women's volleyball coach was fired for reporting a possible men's basketball violation, and that extra benefits were provided to current players and a player from another university whom Thompson was recruiting as a transfer to Ball State. The new allegations were first reported by the Muncie Star Press.

The new allegations, which were revealed Monday afternoon, were a major factor in Hunter's return to IUPUI, according to a source close to the situation.

Hunter will receive a new contract to stay at IUPUI, where he has coached for 14 seasons, he said Tuesday. His old contract was signed through the 2012-13 season. His new contract, which will boost his annual base salary of $120,000, will run through the 2014-15 season. His new salary is commensurate with the money that would have been available at Ball State.

With Hunter returning to IUPUI, Ball State athletic director Tom Collins interviewed Lehigh coach Billy Taylor in Indianapolis on Monday night, according to a source close to Ball State. Taylor played at Notre Dame and has coached Lehigh to a Patriot League title and an NCAA Tournament berth in six seasons there.

Taylor had interviewed at Ball State a year ago when Thompson got the job.

According to the source, the other three candidates are South Florida assistant Dan Hipsher, former St. Louis head coach Brad Soderberg and Texas Tech assistant Stew Robinson, who is a native of Indiana and was a three-year starter for former Indiana coach Bob Knight.

There is currently no timetable to hire a coach at Ball State, the source said.

Labels: coaching changes