New UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger sets high expectations for program

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, March 28, 2019 | 3:43 p.m.

New UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger projected energy, optimism and confidence at his introductory news conference today, as he pledged to raise the Runnin’ Rebels back to the upper echelon of college basketball and even embraced championship expectations.

Otzelberger, 41, led South Dakota State to two NCAA-tournament appearances during his three-year stint with the Jackrabbits. He believes that UNLV is capable of reaching even greater heights.

“When you think about the history of this program, there’s not many programs in the United States where you have a real chance to win a national championship,” Otzelberger said. “We have that here. It has been done here. It has been proven that it can be done here. So we have that historical reference as the bar that we know we can get to.”

“We will compete for conference championships, NCAA berths and, one day, a national championship again,” he said.

Otzelberger certainly made a big first impression on Las Vegas as he arrived at the Thomas & Mack Center via helicopter a few minutes before the scheduled start of the news conference. After exiting the craft and glad-handing his way through a crowd of about 200 supporters, the Milwaukee, Wis., native outlined his plan to resurrect UNLV hoops.

It’s an effort that will start with the current Rebels, according to Otzelberger. Seven current UNLV players have entered their name into the NCAA transfer portal and are considering leaving the university, but Otzelberger said keeping them in the fold will be his first priority.

The entire team was present at the news conference except for senior forward Shakur Juiston, one of the players who is exploring his transfer options.

“We need to re-recruit these young men to our program,” Otzelberger said, drawing applause from the crowd. “We need to share with them our vision of what we can be.”

UNLV revealed details of Otzelberger’s contract today. The deal will run through the 2023-24 season, starting with a salary of $1.1 million in 2019-20. The pay will increase by $100,000 every year through 2024.

If Otzelberger were to leave UNLV after this season, he would owe the school a buyout of $4 million. That amount decreases by $1 million each year until the final year of the contract.

UNLV paid South Dakota State a buyout of $350,000 to get Otzelberger out of his contract there.

Some other key takeaways from Otzelberger’s introduction to Las Vegas:

Fan engagement

Otzelberger said he understands the attendance issues at UNLV and will work in the community to build excitement about the program. He pledged to “shake every hand, take every selfie, visit every dorm” in the coming days to engage fans. He also said he would work to bring former UNLV players and coaches “back into the fold.”

Scheduling

UNLV got away from scheduling marquee opponents under the previous coaching staff, but Ozelberger will beef up the Rebels’ non-conference slate in the coming years. “We will schedule high-quality opponents to raise the profile of this program,” he said.

No poaching

There was some speculation that some South Dakota State players might opt to transfer and follow Otzelberger to UNLV, but he said he told his former SDSU charges to honor their commitments to that program.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.