Santa Claus could do nothing to change the Riley Clause this Christmas, so Riley Wallace will officially resign as the head coach of the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team after this season.

Wallace made the announcement of his resignation yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center, ending months of speculation about his future.

"You can't blame anyone for this day, where I'm announcing I'm stepping aside as the head coach at the end of the (season) — April 30th my contract will be up at the University of Hawai'i."

Wallace, 65, is in his 20th season as head coach of the Rainbow Warriors. He is the longest-tenured and winningest coach in the history of the men's basketball program at UH.

He currently has a record of 325-256, including 9-4 this season. No other men's basketball coach in UH history has more than 112 victories.

A clause in Wallace's current contract states that "specifically the term of this agreement will not be extended or renewed" and "the university will not negotiate a new contract with coach."

Wallace said prior to the start of this season that he may not be ready to retire. However, Wallace said he and Hawai'i athletic director Herman Frazier agreed two weeks ago to honor the contract.

"That clause should never have been put in the contract," Wallace said. "Because if you're the boss, you can say 'hey, your ass is out of here' anytime they want to. So after 20 years of faithful service, why would you put it in there? That's the only thing that makes me unhappy."

Wallace said he signed the contract in 2005 in part because he wanted to hire his brother, Loren, as an assistant coach, and also because it would give him a significant raise in pay. The current contract will pay him a base salary of $275,000 this season.

"The bottom line is Riley Wallace signed the contract," Wallace said. "Everybody recommended to me not to sign the contract, but I did. So you can't hold anybody accountable but me, myself."

Frazier was not present at yesterday's press conference because he is at the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona with other UH and Western Athletic Conference officials. However, he did answer questions from the media during a conference call.

"Very, very shortly we will announce an advisory committee to myself and we will start a process, perhaps by the middle or end of January, on putting together some information on how we will go forward," Frazier said. "We will put together what the expectations are, and the announcement of the position, and we will probably advertise for that sometime in February."

Frazier said the next coach's contract would be "competitive with the other salaries that are in our conference."

Nevada head coach Mark Fox and Fresno State head coach Steve Cleveland are believed to be the highest-paid coaches in the WAC, with each making around $500,000 per season.

Frazier said he has already received job inquiries from "agents throughout the country representing coaches from colleges and NBA positions."

Frazier also said that he does not plan on using a search firm to find the next head coach. "We are in a position where we think we can identify candidates who are out there and be able to conduct a search on our own."

Ideally, Frazier said he would like to target a coach with recruiting ties to the West Coast.

"Somebody who understands recruiting, either from a Pac-10 Conference, or a WAC conference, or a West Coast Conference," he said. "I don't think you bring somebody from the East Coast or Midwest."

He said he would like to name the next head coach "at the latest, it would be shortly after the Final Four" on April 2.

Wallace adamantly supported associate coach Bob Nash as the next head coach during yesterday's press conference. Nash has been an assistant coach at Hawai'i since 1984 — three years before Wallace was named head coach.

"We have to take care of our own," Wallace said. "If you've been here that long, and you worked that hard, and you've been that dedicated, then he deserves a shot.

"Hey, he may fail, but he deserves a shot. Or he may be the biggest thing to ever happen to this state ... and my wager will be with that."

Nash declined to comment yesterday, saying only "it's about Coach Wallace today."

Frazier said: "We currently do not have any candidates in mind. We suspect that, even though we have not spoken to him out of courtesy to Riley and everyone else, that Bob Nash will be a candidate for the position."

Wallace said he was assured by Frazier that Nash would be considered for the position.

The current Hawai'i team is on a five-game winning streak. Even if the 'Bows make a run to a WAC championship and the NCAA Tournament, Wallace's future with the team has been determined.

"At this point, I would say that our decision to move forward is exactly what we're going to do," Frazier said.

Wallace mentioned his predecessors at Hawai'i during the press conference, noting that Red Rocha, Bruce O'Neil and Larry Little were all fired, and Frank Arnold resigned under pressure.

"I'm stepping down today because I don't want to be in that long line," Wallace said. "I'm not being fired by any means. I'm stepping down as coach at the University of Hawai'i because I'm proud of what my staff and my teams have done."

Wallace's Hawai'i teams have produced winning records in 15 of his previous 19 seasons. The 'Bows have gone to the NCAA Tournament three times and the National Invitation Tournament six times during his tenure.

Prior to Wallace's reign, the Hawai'i men's basketball program appeared in one NCAA Tournament and two NITs.

"I don't think even our athletic director today or some of the past knew how tough this job is — to bring in the top recruits and travel and do the things you have to do to win," Wallace said. "But I think we've done a pretty darn good job."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.