Doherty was offered the job Thursday and is expected to inform SMU officials of his decision early next week, the source said.

FAU Athletic Director Craig Angelos said he spoke to Doherty on Friday morning, but was not told of any offer made by SMU to Doherty.

"I think that he's keeping me updated and he's still deliberating on which direction he wants to go," Angelos said.

FOXsports.com, citing unnamed sources, reported Doherty had accepted the position.

A phone message left on Doherty's cell phone wasn't returned and his administrative assistant at the FAU basketball office said Doherty was out of town.

Doherty flew to Dallas to meet with SMU and retuned to Boca Raton late Thursday night — pushing the start of the team's annual dinner to 10 p.m. — with an offer in hand, but didn't inform the team he had an offer.

The salary range for the Mustangs' new coach is listed as "commensurate with experience" on the official job posting on SMU's Web site. However, it's believed SMU is offering Doherty close to three times his $177,000 annual salary at FAU.

"I'm not sure of the numbers they are dealing with, but I also know they are out of our league," Angelos said.

Doherty, 44, has a $200,000 buyout clause in his contract.

He coached Notre Dame for a season, then was at his alma mater, North Carolina, from 2000-03. Doherty was hired last year to take over the Owls and went 15-13.

Former Arizona State coach Rob Evans also is believed to have interviewed at SMU.

Mustangs coach Jimmy Tubbs was fired this month after an internal report uncovered several NCAA violations.

Incoming SMU Athletic Director Steve Orsini, who could not be reached, is still the athletic director at Central Florida and doesn't take over at SMU until June 1, after the Mustangs' current AD, Jim Copeland, retires. Orsini is using vacation time at UCF to conduct the search.

It's believed Doherty met with Orsini on Monday in Orlando before visiting the SMU campus Wednesday.

Orsini received praise for his hiring two years ago of football coach George O'Leary, who left Notre Dame after an infamous resume scandal. It appears he may be taking another chance on Doherty, who was forced to resign as the Tar Heels' coach amid reports of unhappy players.

This season, Doherty signed the Owls' best recruiting class in school history.

"I haven't talked to him about the job, but I have talked to the coaching staff and they told me he wasn't going anywhere," said St. Andrew's guard Xavier Perkins, who signed with the Owls in the early period. "Right now I'm just trying to stay updated. I'm praying he stays, but until he tells me he's leaving, I'm not worried about it."

SMU was 13-16 last season in its first season in Conference USA. Conference USA features Memphis, coached by John Calipari, which landed a top seed in this year's NCAA Tournament. Alabama-Birmingham, which received an at-large berth, also competes in the league along with Central Florida, Texas-El Paso, Houston, Rice, Tulane, Tulsa, Marshall, Southern Mississippi and East Carolina.

SMU plays in Moody Coliseum, which seats 8,998. The facility opened in 1956.

The Owls just completed their final season in the Atlantic Sun Conference and will move into the Sun Belt Conference for 2006-2007. The Sun Belt is considered a much tougher league than the Atlantic Sun and features more schools with traditionally stronger basketball programs such as Western Kentucky, New Orleans, Louisiana-Lafayette and South Alabama, which made the NCAA Tournament this season under coach John Pelphrey.