The hiring was announced Saturday but can’t become official until the University of Nevada Board of Regents signs off on the contract.
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Menzies was most recently head coach at New Mexico State. He was an assistant on coach Lon Kruger’s UNLV staff in the 2004-05 season.
Menzies is slated to become the first permanent African-American head coach in UNLV men’s basketball history, the Review-Journal notes.
Beard pulled a 180 on UNLV on Friday. Less than three weeks after agreeing to become the program’s next coach, he took the same job at Texas Tech, where he coached for 10 years under Bob Knight and then Pat Knight. Also, Beard’s daughters live in Texas, and perhaps most importantly, Beard will make significantly more money at Texas Tech, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.
Beard will pay a $1 million buyout to UNLV for taking the Texas Tech job.
Beard’s five-year deal with UNLV was reportedly worth at least $900,000 next season and a minimum of $1.4 million by the fourth year. A source cited by the Review-Journal said Menzies’ contract would be similar to Beard’s, but with less guaranteed money and more incentives.
Notably, George Karl, who was just fired as coach of the Sacramento Kings, had expressed interest in the UNLV job, USA Today reported.
