Cavagnaro, Pitino to meet in Miami

Steve Addy

Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001 | 10:10 a.m.

PROVO, Utah -- Rick Pitino won't come to Las Vegas, so UNLV will meet him on his own turf.

Two days after Pitino said he would not visit UNLV this week to discuss the basketball coaching job, Rebels athletic director Charlie Cavagnaro will fly to Miami today to meet with the former Celtics coach.

Cavagnaro's goal is to get a firm idea of Pitino's interest in being the Rebels' coach next season, according to a source in Las Vegas with knowledge of the situation. It will be their first face-to-face meeting.

Cavagnaro's report will be relayed to UNLV president Carol Harter and the Board of Regents, who are scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday in Las Vegas.

Any offer must be authorized by Harter and the regents, but UNLV has apparently put together a tempting package to try to lure Pitino, who coached Kentucky to the 1996 NCAA championship.

Though unable to confirm the exact numbers, the source said Pitino could get a seven-year deal worth about $1.5 million per year, with an escape clause after three years. His annual base salary would be about $600,000, with the rest comprised largely of money from Nike.

"I have seen those numbers bouncing around," the source said. "That's in the neighborhood."

"(An offer) has not happened yet, I can assure you of that," another source told ESPN.com on Monday night. "This is just a fact-finding trip, the same as if coach Pitino had come (to Las Vegas)."

Cavagnaro didn't return phone calls seeking comment Monday, but issued a no-comment through the university's sports information department.

"It would be inappropriate for me to comment at this time," he said.

On Sunday, Pitino said he was "backing off a bit" on his stated two-week timetable for taking the job or rejecting it. He said he would come to Las Vegas after the season.

But the situation has created such uncertainty among coach Max Good and the players, UNLV wants to make sure Pitino is serious about his interest.

After UNLV's 91-63 loss to BYU here Monday, Good said, "It's not something I can control, but I'm not going to say it's not frustrating. It has been tremendously draining. But after the way we played tonight, maybe I made the decision easy for them."