Gerry DiNardo, Gary Crowton and David Cutcliffe all became unemployed coaches Wednesday, upping the total coaching vacancies in Division I-A to 15.

DiNardo was fired by Indiana after three straight losing seasons; Crowton agreed to resign at BYU following a third straight losing campaign; and Cutcliffe’s first losing record in six years at Mississippi led to his dismissal.

The moves come a day after Notre Dame fired coach Tyrone Willingham. Sixteen major college teams have changed coaches this season. Florida was the first when they pulled the plug on Ron Zook in October.

South Carolina was the first and so far only school to hire a new coach. The Gamecocks brought in Steve Spurrier the day after Lou Holtz retired.

DiNardo was fired 11 days after the Hoosiers ended a 3-8 season with a 63-24 loss to in-state rival Purdue. The firing is the first major coaching change by Indiana athletic director Rick Greenspan since he was hired in September as the school’s fourth AD in a little more than three years. Greenspan said there was a “sense of urgency” for turning around a football program that has not had a winning season since going 7-4 in 1994.

“The goal for us is to build a viable program,” Greenspan said. “We’re going to have some urgency.”

DiNardo replaced Cam Cameron after the 2001 season and went 8-27.

Ole Miss officials informed Cutcliffe of their decision early Wednesday.

“This has been a tough day, but tough times don’t last … tough people do,” Cutcliffe said.

Cutcliffe was 44-29 in six seasons at Ole Miss, 25-23 in the Southeastern Conference, and just a season removed from going 10-3 and finishing tied for first in the SEC West with Eli Manning at quarterback.

BYU associate athletic director Tom Holmoe said at a news conference with Crowton that the coach was asked for his resignation.

“At this time I feel like it’s time for me to step down and let the football program move on in a different direction,” Crowton said.

After the 2000 season, the former Cougars assistant replaced LaVell Edwards,.

Crowton was working as offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears when he was tapped by BYU.

He returned to Provo with a wide-open offense that was prolific his first season and brought back memories of BYU at its best, with Edwards guiding quarterbacks such as Steve Young, Jim McMahon and Ty Detmer.

The Cougars started 12-0 under Crowton, making a run at breaking into the Bowl Championship Series before losing their final two games. He could never duplicate that success.

AP-ES-12-01-04 1847EST