Creating his own buzz

By Ron Kantowski

Thursday, July 31, 2008 | 2 a.m.

A few weeks ago Lon Kruger, the Swiss Army Knife of the UNLV athletic department, added another blade to the screwdriver, wire stripper and corkscrew. He took over the marketing duties of his own program.

Why would the coach have to market a team that went to the Sweet 16 two years ago and matched national champion Kansas basket for basket in the first half of a second-round game this year? Because the people at UNLV hired to do that job were as clueless as Alicia Silverstone.

Not coincidentally, once Kruger hired his own PR guy and launched the beta version of CoachKruger.com on the Internet, interest in the basketball program seemed to grow like a lead at Colorado State. Dozens of spectators began showing up to watch practice — in June — before the Rebels embarked on their tour of Australia.

How palpable was the buzz about UNLV hoops? Well, there were unconfirmed reports that Cheech Marin inquired about season tickets.

OK, maybe there would have been a buzz anyway, even if the UNLV marketing department was slow to recognize that the slumbering giant, or at least giant-killer (ask second-seeded Wisconsin in 2006), had awakened under Kruger’s watch. Rebels fans were watching on TV and nobody had to tell them what to do. They jumped on the basketball bandwagon with both feet.

But any way you look at it, Kruger is responsible. With an assist from Wink Adams and his teammates.

That’s why I thought he was nuts when he started paying out of his own pocket to market the program.

When I saw his amended contract, which will go before the Board of Regents for approval next week, I thought he was a little less nuts.

For starters, he’ll get a one-year rollover on his contract with bumps in base salary (from $265,000 in 2011 to $280,000 in 2012), media appearances (from $440,000 to $453,000), public appearances (from $370,000 to $382,500) plus his standard $50,000 shoe and apparel contract that locks him up for five more years here.

That may seem like a lot of money, and it is, especially for a university that doesn’t have two nickels to rub together. But when you consider that basketball and motorcycle races and rock concerts at Sam Boyd Stadium are what prop up the rest of the UNLV athletic program, it’s money well spent.

More interesting is Section 2.02 g of Kruger’s amended 35-page contract — a ticket revenue sharing plan that could enable him to recoup some of the money he’s shelling out for CoachKruger.com and that other promotional stuff.

Here’s how the official Board of Regents briefing paper reads:

“Lon Kruger is one of the most marketable head men’s basketball coaches in the country and the retention of Lon Kruger is of utmost importance. Through contractual negotiations, Lon, and Director of Athletics, Mike Hamrick, agreed on an incentive revenue ticket sharing program that would allow Lon to market and promote the men’s basketball program and share in ticket revenues. Given the financial climate, it was a mutually agreed (upon) incentive package that gives Lon the flexibility to generate additional compensation without significantly impacting the athletic department budget.”

So here’s how it works: After setting a base revenue projection based on total ticket sales, revenue generated above and beyond that dollar figure will go back to Kruger. He’ll get 100 percent of the revenue up to $400,000 above the base revenue projection, 50 percent from $401,000 up to $800,000, and 75 percent of ticket revenue over $800,000 above the agreed-on number.

What it means in average basketball fan terms: For Kruger to receive $200,000, the Rebels will have to sell 610 more tickets per game than last year. For him to receive $400,000, the Rebels will have to increase attendance by 1,220 tickets per game, and so forth.

Last year, the Rebels sold 152,979 tickets for 19 home games. They have sold 101,934 tickets for next season.

The briefing paper lists five bullet points for why the contract extension and the ticket revenue sharing plan should receive the ol’ rubber stamp: The 2006-07 Sweet 16 appearance, the 2007-08 NCAA second-round appearance, Kruger’s 2007-08 Mountain West Conference coach of the year award, his 2007-08 U.S. Basketball Writers Association District VIII coach of the year award, and his team’s performance in the classroom. This past spring seven Rebels posted grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher.

It should have added a sixth bullet: Kruger has built a program worth marketing, even if nobody else around UNLV seems to know how to do it.

So here’s my prediction: One day Kruger’s gonna find himself a big man and the Rebels are gonna play in the Final Four and the Thomas & Mack Center’s going to sell out for every game. And then most of that additional ticket money that could offset the money the football program loses — money that could help the athletic department wean itself from Carson City handouts — is gonna wind up in the pocket of the basketball coach.

All because UNLV couldn’t promote a winning program, forcing the basketball coach to do it himself.

Oh yeah. And then Mark Cuban or Google is gonna buy CoachKruger.com for a bazillion dollars.