T.J. Otzelberger leaving UNLV for Iowa State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, March 18, 2021 | 9:28 a.m.

T.J. Otzelberger is done at UNLV.

After just two seasons in Las Vegas, Otzelberger has accepted the head coaching job at Iowa State, leaving UNLV to search for a new coach for the fifth time in six years.

UNLV announced the move on Thursday morning, with athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois painting Otzelberger's departure in a positive light for the basketball program.

"When our coaches are being pursued by others, it is a testament to what we are building," Reed-Francois said in a statement.

Otzelberger signed a five-year contract in March of 2019 and still has three years remaining on that deal. In order to get him out of the contract, Iowa State will pay UNLV a buyout of $3 million.

Otzelberger has a long history with Iowa State, including two separate stints as an assistant under three different head coaches. Otzelberger was regarded as an ace recruiter during that time and he was considered for the head coaching job the last time ISU made a change, but the school ultimately went with Steve Prohm in 2015.

Prohm was fired on Monday, clearing the way for Otzelberger to return to Ames, Iowa, where his wife, Alison Lacey, was a collegiate star for the Cyclones from 2006 to 2010.

Otzelberger cited the pull of the Ames area as one of the biggest influences in his decision.

"These decisions are never easy," Otzelberger said via a statement, "but Alison and I are excited to return to Iowa State where we started our family and spent so many formative years."

Otzelberger being poached by a power conference school was always going to be a possibility, but UNLV officials probably never expected it to happen after he posted a 29-30 overall record in his first two years in Vegas. Otzelberger turned over the roster in his first season, and after a slow start the scarlet and gray closed strong, finishing 12-6 in league play and tied for second place in the Mountain West.

It looked like the program was on the way up at that point, but Otzelberger overhauled the roster again heading into the 2020-21 season and the team underperformed to an 11-14 record and an 8-10 mark in the MWC.

The 2021-22 campaign was shaping up to be another challenging, rebuilding year for UNLV, especially after Otzelberger’s prized recruit, 2021 point guard Zaon Collins, was arrested (but ultimately not charged) for a fatal DUI. The program eventually cut ties with Collins.

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard remained enamored of Otzelberger, however, and once Prohm was dismissed it seemed the Cyclones locked onto Otzelberger as their clear No. 1 choice.

Now UNLV will embark on yet another coaching search, something the fan base should be used to after all the turmoil within the program over the past six years. Dave Rice was fired during the 2015-16 season, and once the campaign came to an end then-AD Tina Kunzer Murphy set about finding his replacement. She settled on Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin and believed she had a handshake agreement, but Cronin eventually returned to the Bearcats on an extension.

Kunzer-Murphy then targeted Little Rock coach Chris Beard and made sure to get his name on the contract in permanent ink. It didn’t do much good, however, as Texas Tech swooped in less than two weeks later and lured Beard away to his “dream job.”

UNLV then turned to New Mexico State coach Marvin Menzies, a former UNLV assistant whose dream job was UNLV. The Menzies contract stuck, but he posted a 48-48 record in three years, and new athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois fired him following the 2018-19 season.

That cleared the way for Reed-Francois’ first basketball coaching search. Otzelberger was a coach on the rise at the time; his strong track record as a recruiter made him attractive, and he appeared to have coaching chops after leading South Dakota State to two NCAA Tournament berths in three years.

Now Reed-Francois will be in charge of another coaching search, and the timeline is likely to stretch a lot longer than Iowa State’s hiring process.

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