Money should be key factor in decision on Rebels’ Rice

LARAMIE, Wyo. — It has reached the point of big picture thinking, far beyond losing to another inferior team and blowing yet another big lead and falling to 0-3 in a terrible conference without yet playing any of the best teams in said terrible conference, beyond appearing to have no answers on how to improve what is an offense that can only be described as UNLOLV.

But whether university officials have seen enough and opt to fire Dave Rice as the school's basketball coach must be more about dollars and cents than final scores.

The Mountain West, save someone running away and dropping just a few games over 18 tries, is likely a one-bid conference this season for the NCAA Tournament.

Everyone is playing to win three games in three days at the conference tournament in March at the Thomas & Mack Center. Everyone is riding in the same pitiful boat.

But in the wake of another forgettable loss — 59-57 at Wyoming on Saturday in which the Rebels blew a 22-5 lead — UNLV is faced with this dilemma: What is the cost of keeping Rice for the remainder of the season?

I don't know the answer. I'm not even sure who would make the final decision at UNLV, given if you believe what most say, it was then-interim president Don Snyder and not athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy who had most to do with the hiring of football coach Tony Sanchez.

Where does university president Len Jessup stand on the matter?

This would be the first opportunity we see how Jessup publicly handles major decisions in his athletic department.

But the only reason to make a change midseason is because those who donate financially to the program have made it clear they want one.

This isn't Michigan or Texas or Notre Dame. The vault isn't overrunning with cash.

If it's true Kunzer-Murphy's telephone and emails have been blowing up with angry boosters and season-ticket holders who are threatening to pull financial support if she doesn't change coaches, she as a state university employee whose department owns little excess in the coffers is required to consider the ramifications of not making a move.

It's UNLV. You can't have too many money folks pull support and not feel intense pain.

"I share the disappointment that many of our fans feel right now," Kunzer-Murphy said. "I'm certain the players and coaches feel the same way. We need to get this turned around."

But you also don't make a change for the sake of it. Look. The next UNLV coach, if you believe Rice doesn't return next season, isn't sitting on that bench among the staff. If that option has even entered Kunzer-Murphy's mind, Jessup should be required to make a change at athletic director immediately. And if he didn't, he should go, too.

Who would be handed control of the team for the remainder of the season matters little. That's why making a change now has to be more about potential long-term effects regarding financial support than merely thinking a new voice in the locker room would suddenly turn UNLV into a Top 25 team.

"I'm just worried about getting ready for New Mexico (on Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack), getting our team home and practicing (Sunday) and Monday and getting ready for a game," Rice said. "That's my whole focus. That has always been my focus. Practice as hard as we can, stay together and get ready for the next game.

"I'm disappointed. I'm pissed. We're still only three games through the conference season, but it's getting late, obviously. I fully expect to be the head coach (against New Mexico). We still have 15 regular-season games left and the conference tournament. I look forward to getting back to practice."

It's more than the fact that since he was granted a two-year extension in 2014, Rice has gone 27-22 overall, and three of those wins came against non-Division I teams. More than the fact he is now 37-32 overall in conference games. More than the fact he is a friendly, respectful, caring man who wants more than anyone else for his alma mater to again enjoy national success in basketball.

Everything they say about Dave Rice being a nice, genuine guy is true and then some. He probably cares too much, if that's possible.

I was the first to write then-athletic director Jim Livengood should hire Rice upon the departure of Lon Kruger to Oklahoma, the first to support UNLV bringing Rice home to where he was a member of the school's national championship team and later an assistant coach. I thought he would be a wonderful recruiter. He has been. I thought he would take the Rebels to deep NCAA Tournament runs. He hasn't. Hasn't won an NCAA game.

This is the beautiful and yet cruel part of sports: You either win or lose. You either get the job done or you don't. The only thing that matters is the final score. Nobody cares about anything else.

But if those at UNLV — meaning whoever out there might make this call — believe keeping Rice as coach now will ultimately damage the program financially in a way it can't soon recover, then they have a decision to make.

And if they don't believe the pain would be intense, they have a season to ride out with the man in charge of the team today.

It's that simple.

"We have to stay together and trust the process and trust the coaches," senior Ike Nwamu said. "We are obviously all disappointed, but we can't listen to the outside noise. (Rice) is our coach, and we're behind him 100 percent and we're going to figure this thing out. We're not concerned with his (job situation) at all, because he's our coach."

I have a feeling he will be Tuesday, as well.

And if he isn't, then someone decided the price of keeping him is too steep.

— Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on "Seat and Ed" on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Twitter: @edgraney