Arizona State has ended its pursuit of Houston coach Kevin Sumlin and cancelled plans for school officials to visit him following his team's C-USA title game Saturday against Southern Miss in Houston.

The news, first reported by the local Fox affiliate in Houston, comes as a result of ASU's confidence that Sumlin is planning to agree to become the new coach at Texas A&M according to sources close to ASU and Sumlin.

ASU President Michael Crow, Vice President for Athletics Lisa Love and COO Steve Patterson scheduled their visit prior to Texas A&M's announcement Thursday evening that it had fired Mike Sherman.

When it became clear Friday that Sumlin was very likely to take the Texas A&M job based on information they became privy to, ASU decided the trip would be a mistake, a source said.

The Sun Devils began their courtship of Sumlin via his agent Trace Armstrong after losing on Nov. 12 at Washington State, and felt confident about their prospects of making the 47-year-old an official contract offer.

But there was always awareness that Sheman's precarious situation with the Aggies needed to be followed closely and could harm ASU's prospects. Sumlin was co-offensive coordinator for the Aggies in 2001-02, and has extensive experience and success in southeast Texas.

Sumlin, in recent weeks, has been mentioned in connection to a number of jobs around the country due in part to his team's 12-0 record and No. 6 rank in the latest BCS Standings released this week.

One of the hottest coaches in the country, Sumlin is 35-16 in four seasons at Houston. This year, his team ranked as the national leader in numerous offensive categories including scoring offense, averaging 52.6 points per game, and total offense, averaging 613 yards per game.