The Associated Press

A person familiar with the negotiations says Cornell has hired Ole Miss offensive coordinator Kent Austin as its new football coach.

The Ivy League university has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday regarding a replacement for Jim Knowles, who resigned in December to become defensive coordinator at Duke.

Knowles was 26-34 in six seasons and Cornell was 2-8 in 2009, the school’s worst record since 2003.

Austin is a former Rebels quarterback. He was the offensive coordinator at his alma mater for two seasons. Austin helped guide the Rebels to back-to-back, nine-win seasons for the first time in nearly 50 years.