I remember going to my first UNLV basketball game at the convention center. I remember the Mack opening. I remember all the great times with Tark and all the bad times that followed since. I am an UNLV alumnus and I have supported UNLV athletics with my time and money and like some of you count individuals inside the program, past and present, as friends . In all that time I don't think I have ever met anyone that was a true Rebel more than Dave Rice.
No matter how it ends for Dave's tenure as head coach he is the closest we will ever get to someone who loves the university and the program as much as we all do. I supported Rice for the job. I remember being at his press conference talking to some in the UNLV admin saying that we had our coach for the next 20 years. I truly believed that. That's why it is very sad for me to see the way this has turned out not only for our program but for Dave personally. Yes we are invested in the program as Alums, fans, and boosters but not nearly as much as Dave.
That's why although I understand and agree with a change I hope that everyone will remember how much Dave loves this program and understand no one is taking this harder than him. I hope that people treat him with the respect that he deserves for putting in so many years at this institution from a player, assistant coach and head coach. He did his best. He will always be a Rebel and one of our own. Hopefully people treat him that way in the coming days.
As for the state of the program here is how I see it. We have severe disadvantages when it comes to the landscape of college athletics today. Our tv deal and our conference work against us. Our limited budget and what we can afford to pay a coach works against us. But we have a number of things that are unique that work for us as well. We have great facilities for basketball. We do have a fan base, although fickle, that will support this team. We have two of the top high school programs in the nation in this city. We have the premier AAU event in the country here every summer and USA basketball trains at our facility. We also have the potential of moving into a P5 conference in the future. This situation is not bleak. For the right person this job is a tremendous opportunity.
We will have plenty of time in the future to talk about coaching candidates and wild speculation. But we should do is realize right now what we are. We are a name program that has the tag of potential around our neck. We are a wild card. Our glory days are 25 years ago. Tark isn't walking through that door and comparisons to those days need to cease. It's a new world. We cannot pay a coach 3 million per year. But it has been proven you can still recruit top players here. You can get to the NBA from here. We have to understand that we are not a destination job right now to most candidates. And that's ok. We are not a blue blood but we aren't New Mexico either. There will be tremendous interest in this job. But we have to be honest with ourselves. We are not a top 40 program right now. In results or budget. We aren't Duke. But we can be a Xavier, Wichita St., or Gonzaga.
I read here that some think this program is dead and irrelevant. I don't believe that at all. Our obituary isn't written yet. Maybe I'm typing that with my heart more than my head but I believe that if a school like Xavier can do it we can too.
No matter how it ends for Dave's tenure as head coach he is the closest we will ever get to someone who loves the university and the program as much as we all do. I supported Rice for the job. I remember being at his press conference talking to some in the UNLV admin saying that we had our coach for the next 20 years. I truly believed that. That's why it is very sad for me to see the way this has turned out not only for our program but for Dave personally. Yes we are invested in the program as Alums, fans, and boosters but not nearly as much as Dave.
That's why although I understand and agree with a change I hope that everyone will remember how much Dave loves this program and understand no one is taking this harder than him. I hope that people treat him with the respect that he deserves for putting in so many years at this institution from a player, assistant coach and head coach. He did his best. He will always be a Rebel and one of our own. Hopefully people treat him that way in the coming days.
As for the state of the program here is how I see it. We have severe disadvantages when it comes to the landscape of college athletics today. Our tv deal and our conference work against us. Our limited budget and what we can afford to pay a coach works against us. But we have a number of things that are unique that work for us as well. We have great facilities for basketball. We do have a fan base, although fickle, that will support this team. We have two of the top high school programs in the nation in this city. We have the premier AAU event in the country here every summer and USA basketball trains at our facility. We also have the potential of moving into a P5 conference in the future. This situation is not bleak. For the right person this job is a tremendous opportunity.
We will have plenty of time in the future to talk about coaching candidates and wild speculation. But we should do is realize right now what we are. We are a name program that has the tag of potential around our neck. We are a wild card. Our glory days are 25 years ago. Tark isn't walking through that door and comparisons to those days need to cease. It's a new world. We cannot pay a coach 3 million per year. But it has been proven you can still recruit top players here. You can get to the NBA from here. We have to understand that we are not a destination job right now to most candidates. And that's ok. We are not a blue blood but we aren't New Mexico either. There will be tremendous interest in this job. But we have to be honest with ourselves. We are not a top 40 program right now. In results or budget. We aren't Duke. But we can be a Xavier, Wichita St., or Gonzaga.
I read here that some think this program is dead and irrelevant. I don't believe that at all. Our obituary isn't written yet. Maybe I'm typing that with my heart more than my head but I believe that if a school like Xavier can do it we can too.
