Thursday, May 15, 2003 | 9:36 a.m.
Lori Harrigan didn't believe it at first when she'd heard longtime UNLV softball coach Shan McDonald's contract was not renewed.
Harrigan, UNLV's most famous softball alumnus, has enjoyed a career highlighted by throwing a no-hitter en route to a gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She said a friend from work called her to tell her the news.
"It was kind of a shock to me," said Harrigan. "There's been rumors for the last five years. So it was kind of a disbelief thing ... I watched the news to make sure, then I went online and saw it was true."
It wasn't long ago that Harrigan was working with McDonald, making UNLV a strong, winning program.
"When we won the regional tournament for the first time, the team asked her if she'd gallop like a horse down the third base line," joked Harrigan. "At that point she was so happy, it was one of the happiest times -- a turning point for UNLV softball. We were breaking records left and right."
The end of the McDonald era, which over 17 years enjoyed two berths in the College World Series, came Monday following a disappointing 21-39 season. Now the task to find a replacement begins.
Associate Athletic Director Eric Tolliver, the sport administrator for softball, is in the process of forming a search committee for a replacement. Tolliver says he expects the committee to include boosters, administrators, student-athletes and alumni.
Tolliver is also UNLV's compliance director and has been involved with the investigation into unauthorized use by students of university telephone calling accounts.
"We're wanting somebody with enthusiasm and integrity first and foremost," said Tolliver. "I think the softball community in Las Vegas would like to see a concentration on the best local kids that we have so some of those kids don't go away to other schools.
"We have great talent here in Las Vegas and we want to bring in coach that's going to be able to recognize that programs such as softball will flourish if they have community support."
Harrigan said she hopes the university takes its time finding a replacement. "They need to find out what's best for the university and the girls," she said. "It's a hard transition for the girls to go through. They should find someone who knows the game, who can mentally deal with girls at the young age going through the emotions they're going through."
She also said she hopes the university selects a qualified staff to bring new life to the program. Tolliver, meanwhile, expects that UNLV will find someone who will bring UNLV softball to a Top-20 caliber.
"If you look around Las Vegas, at least half of the top-20 programs are on the West Coast and Southwest. Arizona, Cal State Fullerton, UCLA -- we should be able to compete with those recruits," he said.
Tolliver said several people have expressed interest to him in the position, including candidates from Top-20 programs and successful Division II coaches.
Harrigan would not say she was one of those candidates, but said until recently, she'd never thought about coaching at UNLV. First, she says, she'd have to know how it would work out with her duties as a security supervisor at Bellagio, as well as a potential berth on the 2004 Olympic team.
"I'm still playing softball. I have a tryout coming up June 4, an Olympic tryout in September, and I haven't really seriously thought about it," she said. "It's something that would have serious discussions about my time away, but if I didn't make the Olympic team, it'd be a different story.
"I would love more than anything to give back to the school, because I care about the program a lot. It's a great recruiting ground, and I love the city of Las Vegas. For that reason, I'd love to give back to my sport."
Tolliver said the search committee should be in place by the end of the week, and anticipates having a new coach named by July 1.
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