Former Iowa Coach Alford Lands New Coaching Job
The Steve Alford coaching carousel has a new stop. After being fired at UCLA, Alford has landed at the University of Nevada. He'll replace Eric Musselman who left the school to take the coaching job at the University of Arkansas.
Alford's UCLA teams made the NCAA tournament four times and made two Sweet 16 appearances. His 2018 team lost in a First Four game, and this year's team struggled mightily. Alford was fired on New Year's Eve and replaced by interim coach Murry Bartow.
But before all that, Steve Alford wore the black and gold of Iowa. He came to Iowa City in 1999 after success at little Missouri State. The Iowa job got him back in the Big Ten, a conference he dominated as a star player at Indiana. He'd won a national title as a player under Bobby Knight. He was the hottest coaching candidate in the country and he was coming to Iowa. Some of Alford's time at Iowa was great. He led the Hawkeyes to three NCAA tournament appearances, one as a #3 seed. Of course, Iowa was upset that year in the first round. But Alford struggled in Big Ten play. His overall record of 61-67 in conference play didn't sit well with most Iowa fans. There were off the court issues with players too.
After the 2006-2007 season, Alford left Iowa for the University of New Mexico. Many weren't sure that if he hadn't taken the job that he wouldn't have been fired at Iowa. It was the beginning of a dark time for the Iowa men's basketball program. From New Mexico to UCLA now on to Nevada. The 'nine lives' of coaching continues for Steve Alford. He's got to be on life 8 or 9 by now, right?