Isabel Gonzalez
@cisabelg
Social media has been filled with Steve Alford and Nevada rumors. After a lot of buzz, the deal is now done. Alford is returning to the Mountain West conference as the new Wolf Pack head coach.
CBS Sports reporter Seth Davis was the first one to report the potential candidacy on Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday, things were official.
BREAKING: Bringing with him 28 years of experience, more than 20 NBA players coached, and multiple NCAA Tournaments, Steve Alford becomes the 19th head coach in @NevadaHoops history.
DETAILS: https://t.co/wJYXxG9kun#BattleBorn pic.twitter.com/sfZYH39qjK
— Nevada Wolf Pack (@NevadaWolfPack) April 12, 2019
Alford left the MW in 2013 after parting with the University of New Mexico for a job at UCLA. During his time with the Lobos, he was named MW Coach of the Year three times (2009, 2010 & 2013). The news of him leaving to California came not too long after he had agreed to a 10-year contract extension with UNM, which left a lot of fans disappointed.
| Division 1 School | Record |
| Missouri State Bears (1995-1999) |
78-48 |
| Iowa Hawkeyes (1999-2007) |
152-106 |
| New Mexico Lobos (2007-2013) |
155-52 |
| UCLA Bruins (2013-2018) |
124-63 |
At UCLA, Alford reached the NCAA Tournament four times, three of these with a Sweet 16 appearance. He got a 124-63 record, but overall he didn’t meet the expectations that came with the job. He was fired on December 31, two days after a 73–58 loss to Liberty. The school officially announced his replacement, Mick Cronin, this week.
As the new Nevada head coach, Alford is replacing Eric Musselman, who was officially announced as the Arkansas head coach on April 7. Musselman led the Wolf Pack to a 110-34 record, three straight MW regular-season titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
In his official statement, Alford said he wants Nevada to be his last stop.
“To be able to continue my career in a tight-knit community that has demonstrated its support for the basketball program is exactly the opportunity that Tanya and I were looking for, and we are thrilled to be in Northern Nevada,” the statement read. “I can’t wait to get to work as we look to build off the established tradition and momentum of this great program. I want this to be the last stop of my coaching career.”
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