SEATTLE — Former UCLA guard and current Washington assistant Cameron Dollar will become the new head coach at Seattle University as the school continues its transition back to Division I.

A university official with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press Thursday morning that Dollar is the choice to replace Joe Callero, who left earlier this month to take over at Cal Poly. The official requested anonymity because the formal announcement had not been made. A news conference was scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday on the Seattle campus to introduce the new coach.

Dollar's hiring was first reported by The Seattle Times in Thursday's editions, citing unnamed sources.

Dollar will take over as the Redhawks begin their second season moving back to the Division I level. The school dropped from the top level of college athletics in 1980, but decided in recent years to return.

Last year, playing a mixed schedule against Division I, Division II and other lower division teams, the Redhawks went 21-8, including a 13-8 mark against Division I opponents and wins over Louisiana Tech, UC Irvine and Eastern Washington, among others.

Next season, Seattle will have to play a full Division I schedule as part of its five-year transition, and it will be Dollar's task to lead Seattle through those challenges and make the small Jesuit school attractive to a conference. Athletic director Bill Hogan said last week that he wanted a coach who would help the program grow, but also be a leader in finding the needed conference affiliation.

"The great thing about Cameron is he's got great support in the community," Callero said by phone Thursday morning. "There is going to be those days he's going to shake his head, but overall, if he looks at it from a three- to five-year perspective and can come out of the storm in a good position the program will have taken a positive step."

Seattle will not be eligible to play in the NCAA tournament until the 2012-13 season, but could compete in other postseason tournaments like the NIT.

Dollar has been one of Lorenzo Romar's top assistant at Washington since the pair arrived in 2002. Before that, he was on Romar's staff at St. Louis. Dollar spent one season as head coach at Southern California College in 1998-99 when, at 22, he was the youngest college coach in the nation.

Dollar was a candidate for jobs at Sacramento State and Long Beach State previously, and had informal talks with Portland State last week about its opening that was eventually filled by assistant Tyler Gerving.

Before entering coaching, Dollar was a four-year standout at UCLA and started the 1995 national championship game when UCLA beat Arkansas 89-78. That game was played at the Kingdome.