Menzies, like Theus, a former assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville, takes over the NMSU program that Theus rebuilt in just two seasons. Theus left the Aggies to become the head coach of the NBA Sacramento Kings earlier this month.

"This is a program I feel can compete at the upper echelon," Menzies said at his introduction to the New Mexico State community. "We are here for the long haul."

Athletics director McKinley Boston said Menzies' three-year contract includes a base salary of $325,000 with the possibility of up to $200,000 in incentives.

The contract will automatically be extended by a year if Menzies meets one of three goals in his first season: a top-three regular season finish in the Western Athletic Conference, an appearance in the WAC championship game or an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Two years ago, Theus inherited an NMSU program that had just finished a 6-24 season. He led the Aggies to back-to-back winning seasons, including a 25-9 record this past season as the Aggies made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in nine years.

Menzies has been a journeyman assistant with prior stops at USC, San Diego State and UNLV before succeeding Theus on the Louisville staff two years ago. He said getting his first head coaching job was a lifelong ambition.

"I didn't honestly think about New Mexico State when I though about being head coach," he said. "But I did think about going into a place that I didn't have to rebuild. The head [Theus] is gone, but the body of success is still here."

Menzies inherits a program that won the Western Athletic Conference tournament last season and is well stocked with four returning starters and a much-heralded recruiting class that Theus lured to the southern New Mexico school.

Now it's Menzies' job to keep the incoming recruits from bolting, and No. 1 on that list is Pittsburgh-area standout Herb Pope, who averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds as a senior.

The 6-foot-9 Pope was at Friday's news conference and listened intently to what Menzies had to say. But Pope said he wanted to meet with Menzies before deciding whether he would remain at New Mexico State or transfer, adding "I should have a decision within 48 hours."

Menzies, like Theus, grew up in California and said he and the former NBA All-Star had much in common. Besides their West Coast roots, he said the two coach a similar style of play (up-tempo) and then brought laughter to the room by saying he and Theus share "Hollywood looks."

"I'm going to take what Reggie did and build on it," Menzies said. "I don't see this as filling Reggie's shoes, but rather taking the baton in a relay race and running the next leg."

Athletics director McKinley Boston said Menzies was the best fit for a mid-major program, hoping to reclaim the national prominence the Aggies enjoyed in the early 1970s when they reached the Final Four under coach Lou Henson.

"We can be a program like Southern Illinois and create our own identity," Boston said.

School president Michael Martin said the NMSU program under Theus had taken off during the past two years and was confident the winning would continue.

"A few years ago, we could have probably had this announcement in a phone booth," Martin said.

Labels: coaching changes

New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus is going home again -- back to the NBA and back to the Kings, but this time in Sacramento, not where he starred in Kansas City.

Theus wouldn't confirm the figures but he will get a three-year deal, worth an estimated $6 million.

Theus will replace Eric Musselman, who was fired after the Kings went 33-49 and missed the playoffs in his only season as coach.

Expect former Arizona St. coach Rob Evans to be a candidate to replace Theus.

Labels: coaching changes

Labels: coaching changes

The National Collegiate Athletic Association, which on Sunday ejected Brian Bennett of The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., during the Louisville-Oklahoma State game at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, contends it is merely enforcing long-established principles as they apply to a new technology.

But the newspaper is weighing a legal challenge on First Amendment grounds — the right to free speech as it applies to reporting news in a public place.

Jon Fleischaker, a lawyer representing The Courier-Journal, said yesterday that such a challenge might be made, within the next 10 days, because the event took place at a public facility and because the eviction was enforced by the University of Louisville, a public institution that was the host university.

The 59-year-old Hoeppner is on his third medical leave from the team. His latest absence, which began in mid-March, is the longest in his two seasons with the team.

Read More...

Labels: coaching changes

Weiberg, who caught Big 12 athletic directors by surprise Thursday when he announced he was resigning next month to take a job with the new Big Ten Network, was part-commissioner and part-counselor.

Read More...

Labels: coaching changes