Santa Fe New Mexican

UNM men's basketball: Alford gets three-year extension
The Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE — The University of New Mexico on Monday gave men's basketball coach Steve Alford a three-year extension, which will keep him coaching the Lobos through the 2015-16 season.

"This is another example of what I have said all along — that I am committed to being a Lobo. ... With the upcoming renovations to The Pit (the Lobos' home court) and our success in year one, we are well on our way to making Lobo basketball a big-time program," Alford said.

The contract extension "shows our commitment to coach Alford and his commitment to the University of New Mexico," said Paul Krebs, vice president for athletics.

Alford, who left Iowa and the Big Ten to take over New Mexico's struggling mid-major program, just wrapped up the first year of his original six-year contract with New Mexico.

He guided the Lobos to a third-place finish in the Mountain West Conference at 11-5 and an overall record of 24-9. The two dozen regular season victories tied a school record.

The eight wins on the road also tied a school record and equaled UNM's total from the previous five seasons.

Before Alford, the Lobos finished the 2006-07 season tied for last in the Mountain West at 4-12 and an overall mark of 15-17. The program has been to the NCAA Tournament only once since 1999 and has never made it past the second round.

Alford will enter his 18th year as a head coach in the fall season with a record of 332-192.

There had been rumors that Indiana's athletic director was meeting with Alford, but a spokesman for UNM's athletics department, Greg Remington, said Alford had been out of town and that he didn't believe anyone from Indiana asked for permission to talk with him.

Alford, a key player on Bob Knight's Indiana national championship team 20 years ago, told Monday's news conference he'd been in El Paso all weekend and that "I've had nothing to do with anything that's happened at Bloomington since 1987."