Photo courtesy of Basketballhistory.com

MIAMI – Former Heisman Trophy winner and New York Knicks point guard Charlie Ward was named the new head basketball coach for Florida A&M University men’s team.

Ward takes over for Patrick Crarey, who agreed to become the new head coach for Grambling State University in Louisiana.

The Rattlers and Tigers are Southwestern Athletic Conference rivals.

FAMU finished 14-17 last season.

The Rattlers’ last winning season was in 2007-07, when they earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Ward, 54, won the Heisman Trophy at Florida State University in 1993 and also played point guard for the Seminoles basketball team.

He said he wouldn’t play in the NFL unless he was a first round draft pick and went undrafted.

Ward was drafted by the Knicks.

He played 11 NBA seasons mostly with the Knicks, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.

Ward was involved in the infamous brawl between rivals the Miami Heat and Knicks during the 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

While Ward’s teammate was at the foul line, the guard tried to box out Heat forward P.J. Brown who then flipped Ward over behind the basket and into the crowd.

Some of the Knicks’ players came off the bench to fight with Heat players, which violated NBA policy and led to their suspension for Game 7 of the series.

The Heat won and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Ward retired in 2005 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame the following year.