July 20, 2010
LoboTV: Steve Alford Contract Extension Press Conference
University of New Mexico Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs today announced new contract details for men’s head basketball coach Steve Alford. The two parties agreed April 3 on a revised package that will keep Alford at UNM through the 2019-20 season.
Alford, the two-time Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year, will receive total compensation of $1,149,200 for the current fiscal year that began July 1, an increase of $145,000 from last year. He could earn an additional $625,000 in 2010-11 by meeting performance-based incentives.
Alford’s base salary in 2010-11 is $264,200. That figure will increase to $504,200 annually on April 1, 2014. His base salary last year was $239,200.
Including $115,000 in incentives, Alford earned $1,119,200 in 2009-10 when the Lobos – playing with only one senior on the roster – finished 30-5. UNM set a school record for wins and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years. The Lobos earned a No. 3 seed in the East Region and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.
The Lobos were ranked in the top-25 for 12 weeks and finished No. 8 in the final AP poll, the second-highest in school history.
“As we said in April, Lobo basketball has made dramatic improvement in all areas under Steve’s watch,” said Krebs. “The assessment of his program warrants the decision to provide a contract extension and a revised pay structure. This business decision makes sense in several key areas that are important to the overall mission of the University: academics, competition, community engagement and revenue generation. The agreement we reached with Steve represents a sound investment based on dividends earned in the past three years. We expect this trend of productivity to continue in the future.”
Krebs said UNM anticipates direct revenue in excess of $9 million in three primary areas for the 2010-11 fiscal year: $4.1 million in men’s basketball ticket sales; $3 million in Lobo Club donations and $2.1 million for the sale of suites and club seats in the renovated Pit. Ticket revenue and Lobo Club donations totaled just $5.4 million in 2006-07, the year before Alford started at UNM.
“I know a lot of our fans wanted to know how we could keep Steve at UNM,” Krebs said. “This is how. We appreciate his commitment to our school, community and state. He is a tremendous ambassador for the University of New Mexico, the city of Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico. The success of last year’s team brought UNM an unprecedented amount of national attention. That kind of exposure is very positive for the university.”
“It bears repeating that I feel extremely blessed for the tremendous support of an administration led by President (David) Schmidly and Paul Krebs,” said Alford. “I also want to thank Gov. Richardson and the UNM Board of Regents. None of this happens – especially the Pit renovation and our new academic center – without their support.”
Alford is 76-26 (.745) in three seasons at New Mexico, guiding the Lobos to postseason play every year. He has more wins, a higher winning percentage and more regular-season conference titles (2) than any previous Lobo coach after three seasons.
UNM was picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West Conference each of the past seasons. The Lobos tied for the title in 2008-09 by winning their last five games. In 2009-10, New Mexico started 0-2 in league play, but ripped off a conference and school-record 14 straight wins to claim its first outright conference championship in 16 years.
Alford has been chosen MWC Coach of the Year each of the past two seasons. He is 37-11 (.771) in three seasons of conference play. The Lobos’ lowest finish under Alford is third place in 2007-08 after landing in eighth place the year before Alford started at UNM.