Alford signs extension with Lobos
If you were a Division I basketball school looking to sign a two-time Mountain West Conference coach of the year, you’re out of luck.
University of New Mexico has announced that they will extend Steve Alford’s contract through to 2020, paying the highly successful coach a salary of over $1.1m plus performance incentives that could net him another $625,000 over the next season.
Coming off the Lobos’ most successful season in school history, posting a 30-5 record and returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time in five years, Alford said he had opportunities to leave this spring.
"My agent got several calls," Alford told the media at a press conference. "But if you talked to my agent, he'd tell you that I told him not to return any calls. I want to be a Lobo as long as (they’ll) have me as a Lobo.”
During his three-year tenure with the school, the Lobos have posted a 72-26 overall record, been ranked as high as eighth and spent 12 weeks in the top 25 last season. The Lobos – a three seed - bowed out of the 2010 NCAA tournament in the second round after being upset by the sixth seeded Washington Huskies.
"You have to put out a product that competes, works awfully hard and plays unselfish,” said Alford. “I think we've done that in three years. We've put out a product of young men who really have a sense of pride and understanding about wearing a Lobo uniform."
New Mexico’s Athletic Director Paul Krebs couldn’t agree more.
"In the history of the university, we've flirted with greatness. We've been on the edge. With consistent leadership at the top, we've got a realistic chance…to be one of the top programs annually in college basketball."
Krebs credits Alford with a lot more than just winning games, citing a rise in team GPA and increased ticket sales.
An unusual addition to Alford’s new contract is a buyout clause that requires that well-liked coach to pay $400,000 should he opt out of his contract before 31 March, 2011. The buy-out decreases each year through 2013.
“I’ve never had one and I hope it shows my commitment to the university,” said Alford.
The university has certainly shown their commitment to him and to the his program; this year the Lobos will be playing in a newly renovated facility – affectionately dubbed “The Pit.” The cost of the renovations nears the $60m mark.
Alford says he and his family are “extremely happy” to be staying in New Mexico and credits a good relationship between himself and the athletic staff.
"There are certain things that have to be in place, and those things have to be in place at the top, said Alford. “If the president and A.D. and the staffs below aren't on the same page, it doesn't work…I found that here. I'd be crazy to walk away from it."
And New Mexico would be crazy to let him.
Since the departure of Dave Bliss in 1999, the Lobos program had struggled until the emergence of Alford. Through those seasons, the Lobos were 137-110, only garnering one NCAA tournament birth (resulting in a first round loss) and never making it past the quarterfinals of the NIT tournament. Coaches Fran Fraschilla (1999-2002) and Ritchie MacKay (2002-2007) were fired for dwindling attendance, poor play and ultimately disappointing records.
Alford started his coaching career with the D-III Manchester College Spartans before making the leap to D-I in 1995, leading the Southwest Missouri Bears to the Sweet 16 in his final year with the school. In 1999, he took a job with the Iowa Hawkeyes with mixed results. In 2007, he resigned as Iowa’s head coach to sign on with the Lobos
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