The Roanoke Times | File 2009

In 2009, Brad Greenberg led Radford to its second NCAA tourna-ment appearance. The Highlanders fell 101-58 in the first round to No. 1 seed North Carolina, the eventual national champion.

File 2007 | The Roanoke Times

Brad Greenberg was 55-68 in four years at Radford. The Highlanders were 5-24 this year.

Correction (May 20, 2011: 4:38 p.m.): The original version of this story misattributed early reports that Greenberg would be leaving Radford. The story has been updated. | Our corrections policy

RADFORD -- Brad Greenberg ended speculation on how his four-year term as Radford University's men's basketball coach would end when he quit Thursday afternoon.

Greenberg had been under fire since the end of 2010 when the university began investigating alleged NCAA violations related to improper benefits for an ineligible player.

In February, Greenberg admitted to the violations involving Masse Doumbe, a native of France and a junior college transfer from Polk State College in Winter Haven, Fla.

Radford announced late Thursday that a national search for its seventh head basketball coach would begin immediately.

"I'm confident this position will generate a lot of interest from a deep pool of candidates," athletic director Robert Lineburg said in a news release. "Radford University is a terrific institution, and we are committed to hiring the right individual to lead our program. I'm not going to put a timetable on the search."

Lineburg said he would have no further comment about the coaching situation until a hire is made. He also said that he would have nothing to say about the ongoing NCAA investigation.

Greenberg, 57, was suspended by the university in February for the last four games of the season. He finished with a 55-68 record in four years at Radford. His best season was in 2008-09 when the Highlanders finished 21-12 and won the Big South Conference regular-season and tournament titles and earned an NCAA tournament berth.

Greenberg was subsequently named conference coach of the year and was awarded a new contract. In his last season, the Highlanders were 524 (2-16 Big South) and failed to reach the league tournament for the first time.

News finally broke Monday that the university would be cutting ties with the coach this week pending resolution of legal and financial matters.

Meanwhile, the NCAA investigation continues into the alleged violation of rules governing student-athlete benefits.

The allegations involve Doumbe being given transportation to several of Radford's away basketball games. The 6-foot-8 Doumbe, who's considered by many to be the best player in Radford's program, has been ineligible since his arrival on campus last fall. The NCAA said Doumbe played on a French club team that included professional players.

The NCAA ruled that he could regain his eligibility if certain conditions were met, including the payment of $8,000 to a charity from what he earned while playing for the club team.

Doumbe remains in school but has not met conditions of athletic reinstatement.

The new coach will inherit a program that has 10 returning players and two signees. Two of the returnees are walk-ons, and a third is Doumbe.

Rising junior Evan Faulkner and redshirt freshman Tommy Spagnolo left the program recently. Faulkner transferred to Division II University of Charleston. Spagnolo's destination is uncertain.

Mike Ashley, a Radford alumnus and a former sports information director for the school, said the Greenberg situation has been painful for the Radford community.

"The one thing we always had at Radford was that we did things the right way. We didn't cheat," Ashley said. "We don't have that anymore."

Greenberg, the brother of Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg and a former general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, was last at Radford's Dedmon Center on Friday. He did not respond to calls and text messages requesting comment.

Assistant coaches Rick Hall and Cedric Smith and the director of basketball operations, Chad Myers, are on one-year contracts that end June 30. Nothing was said about the assistants in the university's news release. Assistant Rick Callahan recently took a job on King Rice's coaching staff at Monmouth University. The Radford assistant coaches have declined to comment.

Ashley said that the Highlanders faithful knew something was up with the coach on Sunday when his weekly email to boosters and friends did not appear.

Ever since he took over from Byron Samuels, Greenberg has sent the weekly email -- a mixture of information about the program, restaurant reviews, travelogues, commentary on the NBA and college basketball, cheerleading for Radford athletics as a whole, and an exercise in name-dropping on a grand scale.

The final dispatch was May 8. Greenberg wrote about commencement, Highlanders track and field, Radford men's tennis in the NCAA tournament, and coach Gary Williams' retirement at Maryland.