AMHERST, Mass. — After two days of fretting about the possibility of losing his men’s basketball coach to Providence College, Massachusetts athletic director John McCutcheon was relieved that Travis Ford agreed to a renegotiated contract to stay in Amherst.

McCutcheon declined to announce the specifics of the deal.

“We committed to him and he committed to us,” McCutcheon said at the school’s end-of-the-season basketball banquet. “We’re extremely excited that he decided to stay with us.”

Many fans arrived at the banquet unaware that Ford had already made a decision to stay at UMass, and when the coach didn’t arrive right away there were whispers about what he might do.

McCutcheon ended the speculation early.

“We want everyone to take a nice cleansing breath with the knowledge that Travis Ford is going to be with us for many years,” McCutcheon said from the podium in an auditorium at the school’s campus center.

He received a loud ovation.

The players had a similar reaction earlier in the day. In the week since they fell in the National Invitation Tournament finals, they admitted they’d kept close tabs on the rumors regarding Ford, first at Louisiana State and eventually Providence.

“Guys were sweating it out for the past week,” said junior forward Tony Gaffney, who transferred from Boston University to play for Ford. “When we found out he was staying, everyone was thrilled.”

Teammate Chris Lowe agreed.

“He’s like a second father to me. We didn’t know how we’d react to another guy,” Lowe said.

Ford put Providence in the rearview mirror quickly and began focusing on next season.

“We had a great year this year, but we want to make it to the NCAA Tournament. We’re heading in the right direction,” said Ford, who graduates his entire front court. “I’m very excited. We’re giving these guys a week off, then we’re getting started again.”

After coaching his team in front of inconsistent home crowds at the Mullins Center, Ford said the considerable UMass fan contingent that attended the two NIT games in New York City last week influenced his decision to stay. He said increased support at home games would influence his desire to remain in Amherst if other schools court him in future years.

“The showing of our fans in New York made a difference. I wish there were more fans in the Mullins Center every night. They showed me in New York if they can drive 3 1/2 hours, surely they can drive over to the Mullins Center,” Ford said. “I’m hoping the support we got in New York carries over to next year. I have great faith in our fans that they’re going to continue to support UMass basketball. All of the hundreds of people who e-mailed me, I’m going to hold them to everything they said.”