ATHENS, Ga. -- University of Georgia athletics director Vince Dooley plans to make a decision about the future of suspended basketball coach Jim Harrick by the end of next week.

"Some decision needs to be made by the Final Four," Dooley said. "Programs need to be decided around that time."

The NCAA men's Final Four, which begins April 5 in New Orleans, is a common place for job interviews because nearly all college basketball coaches attend the National Basketball Coaches Association convention at that time.

Harrick has been suspended with pay since March 10. Dooley and university President Michael Adams banned the team from playing in the SEC and NCAA tournaments after they discovered academic fraud within the program.

Harrick has three years left on a contract that pays him $600,000 a year. He is scheduled to get a $400,000 longevity bonus when the contract expires in June 2006.

If Georgia can't prove Harrick was directly involved in alleged NCAA rules violations, he would be owed $2.1 million. If investigators prove Harrick deliberately violated NCAA rules, his contract allows the university to fire him without further pay.