Kunzer-Murphy gets UNLV job, three-year contract
Tina Kunzer-Murphy is here to stay.
The state’s Board of Regents on Friday voted unanimously to approve Kunzer-Murphy as UNLV’s new athletic director. She is the first female athletic director in the school’s 55-year history.
Her contract is effective Jan. 1 and runs through Dec. 31, 2016.
Kunzer-Murphy, 60, has served interim athletic director since July, replacing Jim Livengood.
In early October, then-UNLV president Neal Smatresk ended the search to find a permanent athletic director. Kunzer-Murphy’s interim contract was extended through Dec. 31, 2014, and her salary was raised from $170,000 to $180,000 a year.
The removal of “interim” tag came with a second pay raise, boosting her annual salary to $240,000. Kunzer-Murphy also could receive an annual $10,000 pay increase in 2015 and 2016 based on performance, and will be paid $25,000 for each year UNLV wins the Governor’s Cup, the athletic-and-scholarship competition with UNR.
Other perks in her contract include use of a loaned vehicle and 12 tickets for each regular season contest for all sports and postseason tickets as approved by the president.
Kunzer-Murphy was born and raised in Las Vegas and graduated from Valley High. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UNLV.
She served as the executive director of the Las Vegas Bowl from 2000 to 2012 and was the first female director of a collegiate bowl game.
She served for several months as director of alumni sponsorship and development at UNLV. She also had worked in the athletics department at UNLV and the University of Pacific in Stockton, Calif., and for the Western Athletic Conference. She also worked for the Las Vegas 51s baseball team and the Las Vegas Thunder football team.
The College of Southern Nevada will also have a new athletic leader early next year.
At Friday’s meeting, the regents also voted to approve L. Dexter Irvin as the new athletic director at CSN. Irvin’s contract runs through June 30, 2015, and his annual compensation will be $93,000.
Contact reporter Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.
