Updated April 11, 2019 5:39 p.m.

Steve Alford is set to become the next head coach of Nevada Men’s Basketball per a press release from the university’s athletic department. Alford will be officially introduced as the 19th coach of the Wolf Pack on Friday, April 12, at 2 p.m. in Lawlor Events Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Nevada athletics director Doug Knuth commented on the hiring of Alford and expressed his excitement surrounding him.

“There is no better coach than Steve Alford to continue the rise of Nevada basketball and we are excited for the next chapter,” Knuth said. “To get a leader of Coach Alford’s caliber is a testament to the support of our community and our University. There is a great tradition of Wolf Pack basketball and the future is even brighter.”

Alford will inherit a roster that is currently undergoing massive changes. Seven seniors are set to depart including Jordan Caroline, Cody Martin and Caleb Martin. Multiple players have also entered transfer protocol since the season came to end including but not limited to, Jalen Townsell, Jazz Johnson and JoJo Anderson.

Alford is eager to take over as the head of the program and sees Nevada as a potential permanent home.

“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,” Alford said. “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.”

The logistics of his contract are not known at this time, but Nevada did confirm that he was signed to a 10-year deal.

Alford will replace Musselman who left Nevada, to take over for Mike Anderson as the head coach at Arkansas.

Original Article

Nevada is finalizing contract talks with former UCLA head basketball coach Steve Alford, first reported by Jon Rothstein, a college basketball insider for CBS Sports. If hired, Alford will replace former head coach Eric Musselman as the leader of the Wolf Pack men’s basketball team. Alford was fired from his coaching role at UCLA on New Year’s Eve following a 7-6 start for the Bruins this past season.

Alford has 24 years of head coach experience at the D-1 collegiate level, possessing a .654 lifetime win percentage. Alford began his coaching career in the 1995-96 season when he became the head at Missouri State. Since leaving Missouri State, Alford has gone on to coach for three other universities, Iowa, New Mexico and UCLA.

It was at New Mexico, Nevada’s Mountain West Conference opponent, where Alford began to make a name for himself. In his six seasons with the Lobo’s, Alford’s squad won at least 20 games each season. He led his team to four conference championships and three NCAA tournament appearances over his tenure with the team.

Alford continued to achieve a level of moderate success up until this most recent season with the Bruins. Alford failed to win the Pacific Athletic Conference-12 title while at the helm for the Bruins — he did, however, win the PAC-12 tournament in the 2013-14 season. Additionally, he led the team to four NCAA tournament appearances over his five full seasons with the program. The Bruins made it to the sweet 16 three times over his time as head coach.

Contract details are unknown at this time, but before being fired by UCLA, Alford was making $4.4 million per year. Alford’s contract is not expected to reach quite that high, his contract while employed at New Mexico was $1.25 million. Nevada previously offered Musselman a pay increase in an effort to keep the former head coach in Reno. Mussleman’s new contract would have been worth around $2 million dollars, to secure Alford, Wolf Pack fans can expect a number closer to that end of the spectrum.

This is an ongoing story and will be updated when more information is made available.