Former Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer to join Dave Rice’s UNLV staff

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 | 6 p.m.

Dave Rice is officially halfway done putting his UNLV coaching staff together.

Joining Rice and associate head coach Justin Hutson on the bench will be former Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer, the Sun learned on Tuesday evening. Schroyer accepted the position on Tuesday and will sign his contract with UNLV on Wednesday.

Schroyer was let go on Feb. 8 at Wyoming after amassing a 49-68 record over four seasons in Laramie. That, however, is a rare blemish on a pretty strong overall coaching résumé.

Schroyer, 39, is originally from Maryland and still has strong East Coast and international recruiting ties. He's held assistant coaching jobs at BYU (1997-2001), Wyoming (2001-02) and Fresno State (2005-07), while enjoying one successful head coaching run at Portland State (2002-05).

BYU was also rumored to be pursuing Schroyer for the vacancy on its staff following Rice's departure for his alma mater.

Schroyer, along with Hutson, will add both youth and intensity to the sidelines for the Rebels, who still have two staff positions left to be filled. One is another assistant coaching post, while the other is for a Director of Basketball Operations.

An offer is already out to Rebels legend Stacey Augmon for the assistant coaching job. Augmon, currently an assistant with the NBA's Denver Nuggets, won't make an official decision on whether to take it known until after his season is over. The Nuggets trail the Oklahoma City Thunder 3-1 in their best-of-seven first round series in the NBA playoffs, and will again try to stave off elimination on Wednesday night.

Other candidates for that position include former UNLV staffers Jay Spoonhour and Mike Peck. Peck is currently the head coach at Findlay Prep in the Henderson foothills.