NCAA Basketball: Stevens, Huggins among top head coaching hires of 2007
By Joey Loose
9. Steve Alford (New Mexico)
New Mexico had seen some success over the years, though the program had stagnated a bit since the turn of the century. Come 2007, the Lobos were on the lookout for another new head coach, having struggled in recent memory. They had made just one of the last eight NCAA Tournaments and had scuffled for the most part since joining the Mountain West.
Steve Alford won a national championship as a guard at Indiana before a brief NBA playing career. He became a collegiate head coach right after retirement, spending time leading Manchester, a D3 school, and taking Missouri State to a Sweet Sixteen. He had just been released after eight up and down seasons leading the Iowa program, leaving him looking for a new challenge.
Under Alford’s leadership, there was a renewed vigor in this Lobos program. New Mexico won at least 22 games in each of his six seasons, finishing atop the Mountain West standings in four of those years. Those seasons ended with three NCAA Tournament bids and three NIT bids; New Mexico was back in fantastic shape. Alford was wooed away by UCLA in 2013 and the program hasn’t been the same since his departure.