GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — Hofstra basketball coach Tim Welsh resigned Monday, three days after he was charged with drunken driving and only a month after he was hired at the Long Island school.

"The university accepted the resignation in the best interests of the university and of the men's basketball program," Hofstra spokesman Stephen Gorchov said in a statement.

The 49-year-old Welsh, a former coach at Iona and Providence, never worked a game at Hofstra. Welsh, who signed a five-year contract for $3 million, spent the last two seasons as a college basketball commentator for ESPN.

He was arrested Friday morning after Nassau County police found him behind the wheel of his 2006 Lexus, stopped at a green light at an intersection in Levittown at 1 a.m. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and is due back in district court Tuesday.

Welsh's voicemail box was full. His attorney did not immediately return a call.

At Hofstra, Welsh succeeded Tom Pecora, who left to coach Fordham in March. Pecora was 155-126 in nine seasons at Hofstra, with three straight NIT appearances from 2005-07.

Welsh was fired by Providence in 2008 after 10 seasons. He went 160-143 at Providence but was 1-9 in the Big East tournament. The Friars reached the NCAA tournament under Welsh in 2001 and 2004, losing in the first round both times.

His best season at Providence was 2003-04 when the Friars finished third in the Big East and were ranked as high as No. 12 in the country. Before Providence he spent three seasons at Iona, where his record was 70-22 with one NCAA and two NIT appearances.

Hofstra joined the Colonial Athletic Association in 2001. While it has had success on the court, the Pride have not been able to reach the NCAA tournament as a member.

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Associated Press Basketball Writer Jim O'Connell contributed to this report.