Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity has his new basketball coach - former Indiana head man Tom Crean.

A deal was finalized via a teleconference of the UGA Athletic Board Executive Committee Thursday night.

"Coach Crean was approved," McGarity told UGASports before driving away from the Athens-Ben Epps Airport, along with UGA President Jere Morehead.

Crean will receive a six-year contract that will pay him $3.2 million per season.

A press conference is scheduled for Friday.

"I am honored and humbled to join the University of Georgia family," Crean said in a statement. "I am sincerely grateful to President Morehead and Greg McGarity for an incredible opportunity."

ESPN's Gene Wojnarowski was the first with the report.

"Make no mistake, this is a basketball program inside of a great university that can compete for championships, doing it the right way," Crean said. "We will work diligently and with great energy to make everyone associated with the University of Georgia very proud of our efforts. We're going to need everyone in the Bulldog Nation to help us to create the energy and excitement that will take Georgia to the highest levels of success."

The 51-year-old Crean also met with officials at Pittsburgh, according to ESPN.

ESPN basketball commentator Dick Vitale repeated his continued praise of Crean during an interview Thursday on 680-AM in Atlanta.

“He’s dying to coach,” Vitale told the station. “When the job opened down there, he said, ‘Oh man, that’s an incredible job.’ He would be excited to be the coach at Georgia.”

McGarity and Morehead flew down to Crean’s home in Sarasota, Fla. to negotiate the contract.

Crean was first contacted by Georgia representatives on Saturday.

He compiled a 356-231 record in 18 seasons at Marquette and Indiana from 1999-2017. His teams have reached postseason play during 13 of those campaigns, with nine NCAA appearances and four NIT bids.

Crean led Marquette to the 2003 NCAA Final Four and has reached four Sweet 16's at Marquette and Indiana. His teams have been ranked in the Associated Press and/or USA Today polls during 12 seasons, including top-10 finishes in 2003 and 2013. Individually, Crean has coached eight players who have won All-America honors. All 52 seniors to play for Crean during his head coaching career have earned a degree.