KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Buffalo's Turner Gill has agreed to become Kansas' new coach, a person close to the situation told The Associated Press last night.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school hadn't announced the move.

Gill, who was 20-30 in four years with the Bulls, becomes Kansas' first black head football coach. He takes over for Mark Mangino, who resigned Dec. 3 after a two-week investigation into his treatment of players.

Yahoo! Sports was the first to report Gill's hiring.

Gill's best season at Buffalo was 2008 when the Bulls won the MAC championship and went to their first bowl in half a century.

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Gill is best known in the Midwest as a great option quarterback at Nebraska from 1980-83, a time when the Cornhuskers annually pounded a down-and-out Jayhawks program. During Gill's four years, Nebraska beat Kansas, 54-0, 31-15, 52-0 and 67-13.

But without question, the program is much stronger than it was then. Since Mangino took over in 2002, more than $30 million has been spent upgrading facilities, including an entirely new football complex with new weight rooms, training rooms and locker rooms. Plus, new practice fields have been added adjacent to Memorial Stadium and a project is planned to build luxury suites atop the east side of the stadium.

Mangino, who was making about $2.2 million when he resigned, was the consensus national coach of the year in 2007 after taking the Jayhawks to a 12-1 record and victory in the Orange Bowl.

But after starting this year 5-0, Mangino's Jayhawks went into an 0-7 tailspin. With two games left, athletic director Lew Perkins ordered an internal investigation into his treatment of players.

Many former players came forward and told of cruel and insensitive things Mangino had said to them during games or practice, but others supported him and said he was only instilling discipline and structure. A settlement was reached with Mangino before he resigned under pressure but the school has refused to make it public.

Gill, 47, is one of 11 black head coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

BOXING

VITALI KLITSCHKO RETAINS WBC TITLE

Vitali Klitschko retained his WBC heavyweight title last night with a unanimous decision over American contender Kevin Johnson at Bern, Switzerland.

The 38-year-old Ukrainian kept Johnson against the ropes for much of the fight but landed few heavy shots to hurt the 30-year-old challenger. Johnson (22-1-1) proved a durable opponent and did his best work with counterattacking straight left jabs.

Klitschko (39-2) was making his third defense of the belt he reclaimed in October last year, following a four-year break to recover from injuries. He opted to take the fight just 11 weeks after beating Chris Arreola, another unbeaten American.

SPEED SKATING

DAVIS, HEDRICK CAN'T CATCH VETS IN FINAL

The Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick show got interrupted by the rest of the world yesterday, with a couple of Olympic veterans easily outdoing the Americans in the final long-track speedskating World Cup before the Vancouver Olympics.

Enrico Fabris of Italy won the 5,000 meters in 6 minutes, 6.06 seconds at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah. He was the bronze medalist in the event at the 2006 Turin Games.

Veteran Bob de Jong of the Netherlands finished second in 6:08.76, followed by Ivan Skobrev of Russia in 6:10.58. Hedrick was sixth in 6:13.51 and Davis ninth among 20 skaters in 6:15.64.

Davis and Hedrick went 1-2 in the 1,500 on Friday, with Davis lowering his world record in the event.

SKIING

OVERALL LEADER VONN SLIPS IN GIANT SLALOM

Tessa Worley of France secured her second career World Cup victory by winning the giant slalom yesterday in Are, Sweden, while Lindsey Vonn skied out in the first leg.

Vonn, the overall World Cup leader, came late into a turn near the start and lost control of her skis. After winning two straight downhills last weekend in Lake Louise, Alberta, Vonn is still looking for her first giant slalom podium finish.

Worley had a combined time of 2 minutes, 23.22 seconds.

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

Right-hander Kevin Correia, who was 12-11 with a 3.91 ERA last season, agreed to return to the San Diego Padres with a $3.6 million, one-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration. ... Brandon Lyon, who was 6-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 65 appearances for the Detroit Tigers last season, finalized his $15 million, three-year contract with the Houston Astros. ... Timothy Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs) retained his WBO 140-pound title and remained unbeaten with a dominant unanimous decision over Lamont Peterson (27-1) last night at Rancho Mirage, Calif.