Murray's Mailbag: Did Jay Norvell or Steve Alford have more success during Nevada tenures?
There's never any pause when it comes to the college basketball season as the transfer portal has made the sport a 12-month venture. We've got updates on Nevada adding and losing players in recent days while being in the mix for others in what could end up an almost complete roster rebuild. But we pause that roster madness for this week's Monday Mailbag. Thanks, as always, for the questions.
A fun cross-sports question.
Jay Norvell was Nevada's football coach from 2017-21, a total of five seasons.
Steve Alford has been Nevada men's basketball coach from 2019-25, a total of six seasons.
Norvell inherited a team that went 5-7 the prior year and went 33-26 overall and 23-17 in the Mountain West at Nevada before leaving for Colorado State. Those are winning percentages of 55.9 percent overall and 57.5 percent in league. He led Nevada to four bowls (2-1 in those games as he didn't coach the final bowl) and finished second in the MW (out of 12 team) in 2020 with West Division placements of tied for second, third, third and fourth (out of six).
Alford inherited a team that went 29-5 the year prior and has gone 113-75 overall and 61-48 in the MW. Those are winning percentages of 60.1 percent overall and 56 percent in league. He's led Nevada to two NCAA Tournament appearances (0-2) with MW finishes of tied for second (twice), fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth.
Generally speaking, I like to use conference win percentage as a gauge when looking at Nevada coaches because teams schedule non-conference at different levels. Norvell won 57.5 percent of his MW games to Alford's 56 percent. That's close. The MW has generally been better in men's basketball than football in recent years, so Alford's two second-place finishes are more impressive than Norvell's one second-place finish. Alford also has led Nevada to two NCAA Tournament berths, which is a major achievement. Based on pure performance, I'd give the small edge to Alford.
However, if you're talking about performance in relation to expectations based on funding/facilities/investment, the edge goes to Norvell, who you could argue is on the Mt. Rushmore of Nevada football coaches (I ranked them all in 2022 and Norvell was fourth). Norvell was dealing with bottom-three facilities in the MW with a bottom-three budget while being paid the lowest figure of any coach in the conference. Hired at a salary of $400,000, Norvell was last in salary among MW football coaches even in his final season in 2021 when he was making $625,000 compared to a MW average of $1.157 million.
During his five years as Nevada's head coach, Norvell made a combined $2.875 million and owed a buyout of $1.979 when he left for Colorado State. That means Norvell only cost Nevada $896,000 over five seasons, an insane $27,151-per-win steal for a coach who made the Wolf Pack one of the MW's better football programs. He recruited four future NFL players (Romeo Doubs, Cole Turner, Daiyan Henley, Elijah Cooks) plus a two-time MW player of the year (Carson Strong) while producing a fun playing style that led to lots of points. While his exit damned the Norvell era for many Wolf Pack fans — and I understand why — he's one of the more underrated Nevada coaches of the 2000s based purely on his on-field accomplishments.
As for Alford, you can't say he's overachieved expectations given he has a top-three MW budget, good or better facilities and has been a top-three-paid coach in the MW during his tenure after inheriting a program and fan base that was at its high point. Like Norvell, Alford has not won a MW title, but he gets double the chances with the regular season and conference tournament and has been paid $6.4 million over his first six seasons, a much higher rate than Norvell. Alford has put competitive teams on the court for the most part but not been able to get over the championship hump, much like Norvell couldn't do so at Nevada.
There's this impression at Nevada I'm more critical of men's basketball than other sports, but the truth is there should be a higher standard for men's basketball because it is the one program on campus funded at a conference-championship level from budget to coaching salaries to fan support to NIL. There aren't many, if any, other FBS schools whose NIL budgets in men's basketball are three times that of the football team.
Nevada men's basketball gets the lion's share of the financial support in the Wolf Pack athletic department, so the expectations should be a higher in that sport. It's like planting two flowers in your garden. You water one every day (men's basketball) and flower the other once a week (football). Of course, you'd expect the first flower (men's basketball) to produce better results than the second flower (football). It's getting more water/money. As such, I would say Norvell achieved more than Alford compared to fair and realistic expectations, especially when you consider all non-Chris Ault coaches in Nevada football's FBS era are a combined 76-114. That program has been bad without Ault for almost its entire history. Norvell elevated it unlike any other non-Ault coach. Nevada men's basketball has had way more success in the 2000s with Trent Johnson, Mark Fox and Eric Musselman all winning at least two conference titles and two NCAA Tournament games in five years or less on the job.
So, I'd give Alford the nod for more success when you don't consider the context of the situation because it's hard to get to the NCAA Tournament, and Nevada has done so twice under Alford. But including the needed context, Norvell gets the nod because Wolf Pack football has been closer to a dumpster fire for much of its non-Ault FBS history. Of course, Alford has four more years left on his contract (and probably more after that if he wants them) to continue to build his Wolf Pack résumé.
Our latest update was in March when the Nevada Wolf Pack presented to the Board of Regents an informational update on the indoor facility to the Regents' business, finance and facilities committee detailing the project's scope and required materials. The Wolf Pack could offer the final presentation for approval during the Board of Regents' late April meeting. The per-credit student fee goes into effect this fall, so I expect Nevada to break ground at some point this summer. In a best-case scenario, the Wolf Pack would have new turf at Wolf Pack Park as part of this project before the start of fall camp. That won't happen. That is being delayed until after the 2025 season. But I would be surprised if ground is not broken on the indoor facility in the next couple of months since the student fee was passed by the Regents in December. The money is now there to fund the project.
That area — Grand Adventure Land — was closed in October 2023, a month after the GSR Arena was announced. And when/if GSR Arena breaks ground, that thing will be taken down. Sadly, I never went on the giant swing, which is formally known as the Ultimate Rush.
Softball, women's tennis, women's swimming and diving, volleyball, soccer and football all improved year over year. Sadly, football still went 3-10 overall and 0-7 in the MW; volleyball finished second-to-last in the Mountain West (and had the same RPI as the year prior at 245); and soccer had an RPI of 256 (up from 269 the season before). So, those improvements were minimal. Swim and dive improved from fifth to fourth in the MW. The only massive improvement came from women's tennis, although softball will likely win the MW after tying for second last year, so that could be categorized as a "big improvement," too.
Yes, Hawaii will be a full member of the Mountain West in 2026-27. Travel costs will likely increase a little for MW members. The alternative was adding a school like New Mexico State to the MW. Between those choices, I'd take Hawaii.
Returning to Texas Tech: 10 percent
Returning to Nevada: 0 percent
Heading to BYU: 40 percent
Heading to NBA: 30 percent
Going to another college: 20 percent
Former New Mexico star JT Toppin returned to Texas Tech for a reported $4 million. That's more than NBA money for non-lottery picks. If I'm Williams, I'd get one more big college check before trying to make the NBA.
So, socialism for the athletes but capitalism for the coaches and administrators? Pass.
Yes. The biggest thing we don't know right now is whether the House agreement will be passed with the associated decreased roster maximums. If that's the case, football would be capped at 105 players. That means Nevada would have to cut around 15 players from its spring camp rosters/incoming high school recruits just to get to 105 before it could add more players. I'd expect 15-20 players from the spring roster to not make the fall camp roster. And for the Wolf Pack to add maybe a half-a-dozen transfers with offensive line and defensive line the biggest priorities.
College revenue is primarily derived from media-rights money, ticket sales, conference/NCAA distribution and licensing/sponsorships. The NCAA took 22 percent of the average total revenue generated by FBS schools, which came to $20.5 million. So, D-I teams starting in 2025-26 can share up to $20.5 million in revenue to its student-athletes in addition to third-party NIL deals. If you take 22 percent of Nevada's revenue, that's around $4.4 million. So, if the Wolf Pack uses that exact formula, it will pay out $4.4 million to its athletes even though it's allowed to go up to $20.5 million, per NCAA rules (if the House settlement passes). I don't know where Nevada is going to get that $4.4 million, but it's not going to be from private equity.
No celebrity endorsement has ever caused me to buy anything. I put more stock into anonymous reviews of products and their consumer-user ratings.
These NIL deals are first and foremost donations from boosters/companies. There's also some added brand recognition in true NIL deals. Mostly is just pay-for-play.
Did Rory win it or did everybody else lose it?
That's a very "Pardon the Interruption" framing of the topic, but Rory was three over on his last final eight holes pre-playoff, including a missed 5-footer that didn't even hit the cup to win it on the 18th hole before securing victory in the sudden-death playoff. But it was cool to see Rory finally win the Masters. His emotions will legitimate as he exorcised a decade's worth of demons. The major win was long overdue. Amazing to think it had been more than 10 years since he won a major after winning four by the age of 25. More amazing that he's only the second golfer to complete the Grand Slam in the last 55 years along with Tiger Woods. That's rarified air.
He has generally not played very well at that tournament but is now coming off back-to-back top-six finishes at the Masters. It's hard to predict in golf because guys go from elite to irrelevant pretty quickly. Top form comes and goes. But I would guess he does win a Masters at some point. He's only 31.
Oklahoma City Thunder over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden couldn't get it done together, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will. Long live the Sonics.
It's interesting because Reno High alum Grayson Grinsell has been awesome at Oregon, going 14-4 with a 3.99 ERA in 56 games (26 starts) with an excellent strikeout rate (222 Ks in 178.1 innings). And he's left-handed, a big plus for a pitcher. He's been at his best as a draft-eligible junior, going 5-1 with a 3.38 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 50.2 innings as a full-time starter. But his pure stuff isn't overwhelming, so he's not showing up on top-100 draft prospect lists like the one at MLB Pipeline or FanGraphs. He'll be drafted this summer, but probably not with a premium pick that you'd expect from a top-flight starter for a Top 25 team like Oregon. I'll give him a 20 percent chance of being a top-150 pick. He reminds me of Connor Noland, another local product who starred at Arkansas but wasn't selected until the ninth round. Noland is now in Triple-A with the Cubs and was always production over stuff like Grinsell. My guess is Grinsell is a fourth-to-sixth rounder (picks 106-195).
The Reno Aces are 8-7, in a tie for second in the Pacific Coast League West, two games behind Las Vegas. They're third in runs per game and fifth in ERA out of 10 teams. Bothare solid figures. The team just added Casey Kelly, an interesting addition given he is a former first-round pick and top-75 prospect who debuted in the majors in 2012 and also played in the bigs last year with a five-year stint in Korea from 2019-23. Pitching depth is huge in the PCL given the hitter-friendly environment, so it really comes down to the Diamondbacks' starters staying healthy. If they do, Reno should have an elite staff, and almost everybody can hit in Greater Nevada Field from an offensive perspective, especially when things heat up in the summer. But rosters are so different at the beginning of the season to the end of the year (when the PCL Championship Series will be played), it's hard to project that far in advance. The Aces have had only four losing seasons since moving to Reno in 2009, so I always assume an above-.500 mark.
The Florida Everblades are three-time defending champions and tallied 106 points in the regular season, second in the ECHL behind the South Carolina Stingrays. I'll take Florida to win the Kelly Cup. Tahoe plays Wichita in the first round with Wichita just winning three in a row at Tahoe last week with home ice on the line. I'll take Wichita to win that series. Tahoe can score; the Knight Monsters' 255 goals rank third in the ECHL. The questions come on defense. Tahoe's 228 goals allowed are the most of the 16 ECHL playoff teams.
Normally I'd say pretty low given the lackluster support for the Reno Bighorns and the fact the RSCVA doesn't want a main sport tenant in the Reno Events Center. But if GSR Arena is built, that would increase the chances of Reno getting a G-League team to pair with a potential NBA team in Las Vegas. It wouldn't be easy to schedule a minor-league hockey season, Nevada men's basketball season and G League season in the same building from October-March, but it's doable. And I'd imagine the GSR would want those extra venue dates. Still, I'll go low — 20 percent chance there's a G-League team in Reno in the next decade. It'd be 2 percent without GSR Arena being built.
From the original game, here are the top 10:
10. Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant (Chicago Bulls)
9. Shawn Kemp and Benoit Benjamin (Seattle SuperSonics)
8. Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley (New York Knicks)
7. Shaquille O’Neal and Scott Skiles (Orlando Magic)
6. Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin (Golden State Warriors)
5. Dominique Wilkins and Stacey Augmon (Atlanta Hawks)
4. Hakeem Olajuwon and Kenny Smith (Houston Rockets)
3. Charles Barkley and Dan Majerle (Phoenix Suns)
2. Reggie Miller and Detlef Schrempf (Indiana Pacers)
1. Karl Malone and John Stockton (Utah Jazz)
Of your choices, I'll go:
6. Robin Eggs (nobody likes Whoppers)
5. M&Ms (can't go wrong with M&Ms)
4. Chocolate bunny (the ears taste the best)
3. Jelly Belly (some flavors are great; others are horrible)
2. Reese's Peanut Butter eggs (chocolate and peanut butter are an epic combo)
1. Peeps (not because they're good, but because you only eat them during Easter)
But when I think of Easter candy, I think of Dubble Bubble egg-shaped gum. These things were delicious and coated the bottom of the Easter-egg baskets we got as kids. Nostalgic.
Now, this is the question everybody should be asking.
The Triple-A Angels are 2-0-1 through three games, tied for first place in the nine-team league. Our schedule is about to get more difficult, so the next five games will be telling. We might be a touch light on pitching, but we're hitting the ball well and have excellent catchers, which is key in Little League. We should have won the game we tied (17-11 edge in baserunners), but we couldn't get a hit with runners on and settled for the 7-7 tie. In fact, we were down to our final strike in that game, trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the sixth. Our first two batters struck out quickly against their closer before my son came to bat. He fell into an 0-2 hole before fouling off three straight pitches. After taking two balls to work the count to 2-2, he put the ball in play and scored on a Little League homer, a single to left with two errors as he rounded the bases to score the game-tying run as the crowd and his teammates exploded in joy. It was the highlight of my month. And that folks, is why you play Little League.
See y'all next week!
Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. He writes a weekly Monday Mailbag despite it giving him a headache and it taking several hours to write. But people seem to like it, so he does it anyway. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.
