The Associated Press

Arizona coach John Mackovic was fired Sunday, five games (1-4) into the third season of his tumultuous tenure in Tucson.

Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz will take over as interim coach. A national search was planned to find a successor for next season.

"John is a good man and a good coach and a good friend," athletic director Jim Livengood said. "It's not a decision that was made without an awful lot of thought."

Livengood offered no specific reason.

"There's no one single event, no one happening, that all of a sudden had a weight to it," he said.

Mackovic, who turns 60 Wednesday, survived a player mutiny last season after promising to do a better job of communicating. But this year's team lost to LSU, Oregon and Purdue by a combined score of 166-30.

The Wildcats (1-4) played their best game of the season in a 13-10 overtime home loss to No. 19 TCU on Saturday night, but pressure from boosters and unrest among the players led Livengood to let the coach go.

Livengood had insisted that Mackovic's status would not be evaluated until the end of the season, but changed his mind. The athletic director met with Arizona's players for about an hour on Sunday morning, then spoke with Mackovic, who was 10-18 at Arizona. The Wildcats have lost 12 consecutive Pac-10 home games.

Mackovic signed a five-year, $4 million contract in December 2000, and the buyout of his deal will cost $909,000. He had been out of coaching since 1998, serving as an ESPN commentator.

"I felt that at this particular point in time it warranted making a decision right now," Livengood said.

PENN STATE: The Nittany Lions (2-3) have beaten only Temple and Kent State and face a tough Big Ten stretch against Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa and Ohio State.

"Losing, I don't like to lose," coach Joe Paterno said. "I have a bunch of kids who work hard. ... I have a staff that works hard and is overly competent. We just aren't making a couple plays - that's the frustrating part."