UNLV Hires New Basketball Coach, Josh Pastner; New Basketball Tournament In Las Vegas Doles Out $500,000 In NIL Ambassador Money To Top Four Teams
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — UNLV’s basketball program is introducing a new head coach Wednesday.
His name is Josh Pastner, the former basketball coach of Memphis from 2009-16 and Georgia Tech from 2016-23.
A press release quoted Pastner as saying, “This has always been a dream job for me, and I fully recognize the significance of UNLV in the landscape of college basketball. The program holds great importance for both the Las Vegas community and the region, and I am eager to unite Rebel Nation with the goal of restoring the program to national prominence.”
The 47-year-old Pastner replaced Kevin Kruger, who coached the Runnin’ Rebels for the past four years before getting fired ten days ago. Kruger, a former UNLV player and the son of former UNLV basketball coach Lon Kruger, won 76 games and lost 55 but failed to guide UNLV into the NCAA national basketball tournament.
Kruger was hired by former UNLV Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois March 21, 2021. Kruger succeeded former UNLV basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger, who left to coach Iowa State.
Pastner was a member of the 1997 national championship team at Arizona and was an assistant coach at Arizona under Lute Olson (2002-08) and Memphis under John Calipari (2008-09).
Pastner is known as a ferocious recruiter. In 2021, Pastner led Georgia Tech to its first ACC championship since 1993 and first NCAA tournament berth since 2010.
In a press release, UNLV Athletic Director Erick Harper was quoted as saying, “I have had the pleasure of knowing Josh for over 20 years, following his remarkable career from Arizona to Memphis and Georgia Tech. He is a fearless and relentless recruiter with success as a head coach, and is also an exceptional communicator, deeply committed to engaging with the Las Vegas community.”
College sports, especially in basketball and football, has a new economic system as players are paid under NIL deals.
It is the wild west as players who know they will not garner big professional contracts stick around for years at colleges making tens of thousands of dollars in NIL money.
There’s a strong example of that here in Las Vegas with a new postseason college basketball tournament that’s literally handing out prize money to the top four college basketball teams in the tourney through something called the Vivid Seats Ambassador Program. Through this first-of-its-type initiative, $500,000 in NIL brand ambassador deals will be doled out at the College Basketball Crown tourney.
Here’s the money breakdown for the top four teams:
· Champion (Primary Ambassador Team): $300,000 NIL package
· Runner-up (Secondary Ambassador Team): $100,000 NIL package
· Semifinalists (Third and fourth Ambassador Team who do not advance to finals): $50,000 NIL package each
Participating student-athletes will engage as brand ambassadors on behalf of Vivid Seats.
