Alford gets six-year, $5.85 million deal at New Mexico

Mar 23, 2007 - 8:58 PM ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (Ticker) -- Steve Alford continues moving west. New Mexico hopes his arrival will help its basketball program move up.

Alford was announced and introduced Friday as the new coach at New Mexico, agreeing on a six-year contract worth $975,000 per year.

Alford, 42, leaves Iowa of the Big Ten Conference for the Mountain West Conference. He will be expected to revitalize the program at New Mexico, which made just one NCAA Tournament appearance in five seasons under former coach Ritchie McKay.

"He is an outstanding coach and he possesses a proven track record in arguably the toughest men's basketball conference in the country," New Mexico athletics director Paul Krebs said. "Steve's arrival at the University of New Mexico signals a commitment to re-establishing UNM as a national player in men's basketball."

With its raucous on-campus arena known as "The Pit" and its mile-high altitude, New Mexico has been a difficult place to play in the past. The Lobos made seven trips to the NCAA Tournament between 1991-99 under Dave Bliss.

Alford would like to restore that atmosphere. This season, New Mexico was just 15-17 - its second losing record since 1984 - and 4-12 in the Mountain West.

"We're looking forward to getting started and excited to meet the team and building the program," Alford said. "The Pit and Lobo basketball has a great tradition with NCAA Tournaments. We want the home court advantage to be even better. The fans will have a big part in making that possible."

"There's no doubt in my mind that it will be a great marriage, New Mexico and Steve Alford," said Norm Ellenberger, who coached at New Mexico from 1973-79 and knows Alford from his days at Indiana. "Steve's hire brings immediate credibility to the University of New Mexico."

A year ago, Alford was rumored to be headed out of Iowa for his alma mater of Indiana, where he helped the Hoosiers win the 1987 national championship. He had guided the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten tournament title, and Indiana's program was in desperate need of leadership.

However, Alford decided to stay put, and the Hoosiers hired Kelvin Sampson away from Oklahoma. Alford guided the Hawkeyes to a 17-14 mark this season with no postseason appearance.

A disciple of Bob Knight, Alford was 152-106 in eight seasons at Iowa, registering two Big Ten titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. He previously coached at Southwest Missouri State and is 308-183 as a Division I coach.

Indiana's "Mr. Basketball" in 1983, Alford played for the 1984 Olympic team that won a gold medal and spent four years in the NBA.