LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- New Mexico State men's basketball coach
Reggie Theus says he likes the Aggie program, but that he'd like to
be paid what he thinks he's worth.
And he says what he believes he's worth "would break the WAC's
mold."
Theus, 49, has turned New Mexico State's program around in his
two years at the school, going from 6-24 the year before he took
over to 25-9 this year and the Aggies' first NCAA Tournament berth
since 1999.
He was paid $355,000 this season, including $275,000 in base pay
and $80,000 in bonuses.
The bonuses kicked in when the program reached set goals --
winning 20 games, a Western Athletic Conference title, the NCAA
berth, reaching a 5,000 threshold for season tickets, reducing the
number of at-risk students in the program and bringing the
program's academic progress score back over 925, which restores the
Aggies' full allotment of 13 scholarships beginning next season.
"The conversations we're having with people in the community
and with Reggie are about paying him market value," said New
Mexico State athletic director McKinley Boston. "The market as we
know it has been the [WAC] and the University of New Mexico."
UNM just hired former Iowa coach Steve Alford for $975,000 a
year for six years. Nevada coach Mark Fox, who heads the WAC's
standard-bearing program, signed a five-year contract paying him
$400,000 this past season and $25,000 annual raises over the life
of the contract.
"I know what it is when you've got to make a great hire,"
Boston said. "The market is the market. Sometimes we define it;
sometimes we react to it."
He's aware of the possibility that another college might be
looking at Theus.
"Am I losing sleep over it? No," he said. "Am I aware of it?
Yes. There's certainly a buzz in the community."