Friday, Aug. 8, 2008 | 5:36 p.m.
Beyond the Sun
- July 31 -- Creating his own buzz
The Nevada Board of Regents approved a one-year extension to UNLV basketball coach Lon Kruger’s contract, inking him through the 2012-13 season.
The deal, which includes a ticket revenue-sharing plan, was first reported by the Sun on July 31. The Regents consented to it in meetings in Reno on Thursday and Friday.
Reached late Friday afternoon, Kruger said he and his wife, Barb, “love” living in Las Vegas.
“That’s the bottom line,” he said. “We love the people, love the guys we work with, the people in and around the program and the campus. It’s a great fit and we appreciate the opportunity to do it for another year.”
In four seasons, Kruger is 91-42 at UNLV. The Rebels have won games in consecutive NCAA tournaments for the first time since 1991, and they have won back-to-back Mountain West Conference tournaments.
UNLV has won 15 games in a row at the Thomas & Mack Center, the 11th-longest streak in the nation.
A promising 2008-09 season could begin with UNLV ranked in a few top-25 national polls.
Before he took his team on a tour of Australia in late June, Kruger told the Sun the program is where he envisioned it being when he took over.
“If you said four years ago this is where we’d be, we’d absolutely take that,” he said. “Absolutely. The interest level is high and the players are proud of what they’re doing. The program is about our players. When they do well and get good results, you feel good about the program.”
In a statement released by UNLV, athletic director Mike Hamrick said Kruger’s extension is well deserved and he’s looking forward to the continuing success of the basketball team.
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