Cavagnaro vows to land ‘recognizable’ replacement

Tim Graham

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1998 | 10:48 a.m.

It appears Charlie Cavagnaro wants to play Santa Claus at UNLV's office Christmas party.

The UNLV athletic director, one day after firing football coach Jeff Horton, announced in a Tuesday press conference at the Lied Athletic Complex he would name a replacement before Dec. 25.

Cavagnaro also stated his intentions of landing a recognizable coach and spending more money on the program as it prepares to enter the new Mountain West Conference next year.

The final decision will be assisted by a committee comprised of "about seven people" either from within or close to the athletic department.

"It will take a couple of weeks to really get to rolling and then we'll take it from there," Cavagnaro said.

Cavagnaro admitted to having some names already in mind, but declined to divulge them. He claimed he has not spoken to anyone about the position, which opens immediately after UNLV's season finale against Texas Christian Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Rebels enter the game 0-10.

"There's not an athletic director alive -- and if he tells you otherwise he's lying to you -- who in the back of his mind doesn't have this coach or that coach that you'd like to think about or talk about," Cavagnaro said. "I've got that, of course.

"But all along I have been comfortable this football team was going to make progress and get there. I haven't beat the bushes. I haven't been out to this place or that place. But I have been working on it."

Cavagnaro said he was contacted by several interested parties Tuesday.

"The telephones are working," he said.

The opening should become more attractive with an increased budget. Horton has been critical of UNLV's football allowance, stating it "needs to be greatly improved in order to compete with the caliber of teams we are currently competing against."

Cavagnaro disagreed -- to a point. He cited a 1996-97 survey of Western Athletic Conference schools in which the average football budget was $2.9 million. He claimed UNLV spent $3 million in each of the past three seasons.

But Cavagnaro added more money certainly would help. He estimated an additional $500,000-$750,000 is needed to compete in the Mountain West.

The Mountain West's national and regional television packages -- still in negotiation -- could increase UNLV's revenue by $500,000.

Cavagnaro wants to sink that bonus into the football program. He said university president Carol Harter, who did not attend the press conference, agrees.

"We still have some steps to make financially to compete with people," Cavagnaro said. "We're not coming into the Mountain West Conference looking over our shoulder. We're here to compete in this conference."

Cavagnaro said some of the additional money would be used to increase coaching salaries in an attempt to entice a major name. Horton's contract, which was extended last year through the 1999 season, pays him a base salary of $105,000.

"I think we make a mistake if we (don't think) as big as we can," Cavagnaro said when asked the new coach's name recognition. "That's one of the things you begin to do.

"I like the idea of a guy who's going to come in here and get this football program going, and get some excitement going and bring this community together behind a football team like it never has before."

Cavagnaro defended his decision to extend Horton's contract during the 1997 season. The university will have to eat the salary unless Horton refuses his reassignment into the UNLV athletic department and opts for a buyout.

The extension "was a way, in my mind, of assuring the football coach we were moving in the right direction and we were excited about the future," Cavagnaro said. "That's the way you do things in college athletics."

Cavagnaro spoke highly of Horton's character during the press conference, but said the bottom line was wins and losses. Horton's record with the Rebels stands at 13-43.

"Jeff has such a way about him," Cavagnaro said. "He's human. He's a person. He's put his heart and soul on the line. Unfortunately, the results in terms of winning and losing just haven't been there.

"You either get along or you move along. That's the way it ought to be."