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Yeah, it’s true. It wasn’t an early April Fools’ Day joke.
Steve Alford was hired to be the new men’s basketball coach at UCLA, and will leave New Mexico just two weeks after he agreed to a 10-year contract with UNM. He departs for Los Angeles after six years with the Lobos.
Alford is to replace Ben Howland, who coached at UCLA for 10 years and took the Bruins to the Final Four in 2006, 2007 and 2008. UCLA fired Howland on March 24 after the team went 25-10 this year and lost to Minnesota in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
According to The Associated Press, UCLA athletics director Dan Guerrero said Alford’s seven-year deal is worth $18.2 million and includes a $200,000 signing bonus. The coach will receive a $2.6 million salary, the report states.
Associate head coach Craig “Noodles” Neal will take over as UNM’s interim head coach while UNM athletics director Paul Krebs begins an “exhaustive” search for a new head coach.
During a press conference on Saturday at The Pit, Alford said the Bruins job wasn’t something he sought, but rather something that came to him. He decided to take the job Friday night.
He called the move to accept the UCLA job “the toughest decision I’ve had to make maybe ever.”
“That’s because how much I love this place — UNM, Albuquerque, New Mexico, the fans,” he said. “Our entire setup here is amazing. It really came down to the decision to have the opportunity to go to UCLA. It’s the pinnacle of college basketball. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that is really difficult to pass up.”
ESPN reports stated Virginia Commonwealth University’s Shaka Smart and Butler’s Brad Stevens were considered for the UCLA job, but both turned it down.
Alford said he made his decision with UCLA Friday night after thinking about it for two days. UCLA contacted Alford after last Wednesday’s end-of-season press conference, he said.
“University of New Mexico is a special place,” said UNM President Robert Frank on Twitter. “We will find an individual who will lead and grow our elite basketball program.”
In his six years at UNM, Alford led the Lobos to 155 wins, four Mountain West Conference regular-season championships and two MWC tournament titles. The Lobos earned a No. 3 seed in this year’s NCAA tournament but lost to No. 14 seed Harvard a day after UNM announced its 10-year deal with Alford.
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Under that agreement with UNM, Alford would have received an additional $240,000 base salary and could have made up to $2 million with incentives. That deal included a $1 million buyout if Alford left UNM before April 1, 2015.
However, that deal was to take effect today. Krebs said during the press conference he was not certain how the UCLA development affects Alford’s buyout. Krebs said Alford’s previous contract with UNM also featured a buyout clause. Either way, Krebs said Saturday, the buyout will be decided on an undetermined date.
Ticket and concession prices were due to increase as a result of Alford’s contract, although the specifics weren’t announced. Those issues will be re-evaluated with the coaching change, Krebs said.
Krebs has not set a particular time when he will have a new head coach, but he said he will address the matter with a degree of self-imposed urgency. He already has a list of potential candidates to replace Alford. Neal is on that list, but Krebs would not divulge which other candidates are in the mix.
“A good (athletics director) always has that list,” he said.
Krebs said Guerrero left him a voicemail Friday night about Alford, but he did not get the message until Saturday morning.
“As sad and disappointed as I am, Steve was very direct in our conversations and very honest and appreciative of his time here,” Krebs said. “It was clear he made up his mind and was in the best interest of he and his family, and I respect that.”
Alford’s older son Kory Alford was a redshirt freshman for the Lobos this season, and his other son Bryce signed a National Letter of Intent for UNM. Alford said both sons will join the rest of the family in Los Angeles. UNM will release both players, though Kory Alford, as an active UNM student, must go through transfer procedures.
Alford has a 463-235 record over a 22-year coaching career that includes stints at Iowa, Southwest Missouri State (now called Missouri State) and Division III Manchester College in Indiana. He took Southwest Missouri State to the Sweet 16 in the 1999 NCAA tournament, but he has yet to return there as a head coach.
Alford becomes the 13th head coach at a tradition-rich institution in UCLA. The Bruins have 11 national titles under their belts, including 10 in 12 years by another coaching legend: John Wooden. In fact, Alford lived his first- through fourth-grade years in Wooden’s hometown of Martinsville, Ind.
Alford said he leaves New Mexico with mixed emotions. While he’s eager to lead a nationally recognized program such as UCLA, he said UNM is a top-20 program capable of winning championships in the future. He said he has no regrets about his time at UNM.
“The four rings I won here will come with me,” Alford said. “It’s not like I’ll put them in a safety deposit box. Those things will be out and I’ll look at them often. I’ve got fond memories from here and nothing but great things and experiences from UNM. Six years ago, I didn’t know if that’d be the case.”
