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UNM and Steve Alford have reached an agreement for a new 10-year contract that will keep the men’s basketball coach at the school through 2023, the University announced Wednesday.
With incentives and bonuses, Alford could make up to $2 million per year, nearly double what he made a year ago. Barring an early departure from UNM, he will become the longest-tenured coach in team history by the contract’s end.
Alford has been winning conference championships and putting the team in the national spotlight since the University hired him to coach the Lobos six years ago. UNM begins play in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championships tonight in Salt Lake City. As the No. 3 seed, the Lobos play No. 14 Harvard.
“This is a commitment that I wanted to make more than anything else, because I found an institution, I found an area of the country that I really, really like,” Alford said. “We’re extremely successful, and we think we can be even more successful in the future. I think that was more of the reason than anything else.”
According to the contract terms the University released, the renewed contract begins April 1. After that date, Alford will receive a $240,000 increase in base salary. The UNM salary book lists Alford’s current base salary at $324,200, which would bring his yearly total to $564,200.
That total could increase with $405,000 in new incentives. Alford would be paid extra if the Lobos win a Mountain West Conference regular-season or tournament championship, advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 or beyond, or defeat a top-25 team (capped at three per year and based on the opponent’s ranking at the time of the game).
Information on the Albuquerque Journal website also lists $600,000 in other compensation, which includes media and community affairs obligations, and $100,000 in retirement.
The new terms feature penalties if Alford leaves before the contract expires. If Alford departs prior to April 1, 2015, he must pay the University $1 million. That total falls to $500,000 if he leaves after the 2015 date but before April 1, 2017. Leaving after 2017 means Alford would pay $300,000.
The terms state the contract’s length will not fall below six years and there are no additional incentive-based extensions earned. The terms specify Alford will not open salary discussions for a four-year period.
Another term of the agreement involves an additional salary pool of $65,000 for Alford’s assistant coaches and other staff, but any pay increase for those positions must follow the University’s human relations policy and be approved by Paul Krebs, UNM’s vice president for Athletics. The salary pool is the amount of money that can be divvied up between the assistant coaches and other staff.
“We will not be using student fees or state funds for the increases in this new contract,” Krebs said. “We will utilize revenue streams from basketball that will go toward funding this, as we understand the current economic climate on campus.”
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In 2011-12, Alford made $1,093,000, the most of any men’s basketball coach in the MWC, according to a USA Today database of college coaches’ salaries. San Diego State coach Steve Fisher made $802,950 that year, Colorado State’s Tim Miles earned $585,000 and UNLV’s Dave Rice made $450,000.
According to the website Celebrity Net Worth, the coach of the defending national champion Kentucky Wildcats John Calipari made $5.4 million last year with a base salary of $5 million and $400,000 in incentives. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski made $4.7 million, while Louisville’s Rick Pitino made $4.8 million ($3.9 million in base salary and $912,000 in incentives).
During six years at the helm, Alford has led UNM to four MWC regular-season titles, including this season. He has a 155-51 record as UNM’s head coach, and his Lobos won their second consecutive MWC tournament championship last weekend.
During a 21-year coaching career that includes stops at Iowa, Southwest Missouri and Division III Manchster, Alford has a 434-229 win-loss record, a 59 percent winning percentage.
As a player, Alford won the 1987 NCAA title while playing for Indiana and legendary coach Bobby Knight. He sank a Final Four-record seven 3-pointers in a win over Syracuse.
This season, Alford led the Lobos to a 29-win season, the second highest in school history. When UNM won the Mountain West basketball championship last week, the Lobos became the first team to win the league’s tournament in consecutive years.
“As a New Mexican and seeing the coaches come throughout my lifetime, it’s definitely a great thing for the University and for the state because the success he has brought to the program, and the recognition has helped out the state a ton,” said sophomore center Alex Kirk, a Los Alamos native.
While he’s boasted success on the court, Alford’s players do their job off the court, according to information from Athletics. Nine of the 10 seniors he’s had have graduated from the University and his team has 11 consecutive semesters with a 2.7 grade point average or higher.
“It’s a very special place and we feel like we’ve got it going in a positive direction,” Alford said. “To be signed in there long term was a commitment that I appreciate out of the school, and hopefully they’re appreciative of my commitment as well.”
