Courtesy UNLV
Kevin Kruger, an assistant basketball coach the past two seasons at UNLV, was elevated to head coach on March 21, 2021. Kruger was part of UNLV’s Sweet Sixteen team in 2007. That squad was coached by his dad, Lon.
Tuesday, March 23, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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Details of Kevin Kruger’s contract were released on Monday, revealing that UNLV’s new basketball coach is set to make $3.85 million over the next five years.
The pact is relatively modest, representing a 37.5% decrease from previous coach T.J. Otzelberger’s 2020-21 salary. Kruger will make $750,000 in the first two years of the contract, with a raise to $775,000 in 2023-24 and 2024-25. In the final year Kruger will take home $800,000.
Otzelberger made $1.2 million for the 2020-21 season. Kruger’s contract is more comparable to that of Marvin Menzies, who signed a 5-year, $3.75 million deal in 2016; the total value of Kruger’s contract comes out to $3.85 million over five years.
Athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois believes Kruger will win enough to make that look like a bargain.
“We sought a coach who understood basketball at the highest levels and who could lead our team to conference titles and deep runs in the NCAA Tournament,” Reed-Francois said. “We found that coach.”
There has been no word yet on the rest of Kruger’s staff, but UNLV should have some money to spend on his assistants pool considering the school received $3.36 million from Iowa State for Otzelberger’s buyout.
Kruger can earn some extra cash via bonuses for team performance. A regular-season Mountain West championship will earn him $25,000, as would a Mountain West tournament title. An NCAA at-large berth would net him $25,000, while a Final Four berth is worth $50,000 and an NCAA championship would earn him a $100,000 bonus.
Kruger can earn $15,000 for an NIT berth, $10,000 for a Mountain West Coach of the Year award and $25,000 for a National Coach of the Year award.
Kruger dedicated a portion of his introductory press conference to proclaiming Las Vegas to be his home and declaring that UNLV is not a stepping-stone job for him, but should another school come calling, there are buyout clauses built into each year of the deal.
If a school wants to poach him after the 2021-22 season they would have to pay UNLV $3.85 million. The next year it drops to $3.1 million, then to $2.35 million, then $1.57 million.
Conversely, UNLV would owe Kruger the same amounts if the school were to fire him at any point during the contract.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
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