Arizona State has taken away the interim tag from baseball coach Tim Esmay.
The 45-year-old Esmay was hired in December to replace Pat Murphy, whose contact was terminated without cause in November in the wake of a two-year NCAA investigation into the baseball program.
Esmay guided the Sun Devils (47-8) to their fourth consecutive Pac-10 title and the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
Details of Esmay's contract won't be available until the deal is approved by the state Board of Regents.
Lisa Love, ASU Vice President for Athletics, initially planned to address Esmay's situation after the season. But she said she made the announcement Wednesday to "eliminate distraction" as the Sun Devils try to return to the College World Series.
