COLLEGE BASKETBALL
It turns out, the UNLV men's basketball team isn't for sale after all
Coach Josh Pastner walked back comments suggesting donors could 'own' the UNLV men's basketball program, saying he meant to highlight the need for financial support in modern college athletics.
The UNLV men's basketball team is NOT for sale.
But the Runnin鈥� Rebels sure wouldn't mind your support.
If you鈥檙e confused about all this, you can thank UNLV head coach Josh Pastner for delivering a bit of a PR messaging mishap over the past week.
First the coach said in an interview with Las Vegas television reporter Taylor Rocha that a cheaper alternative to buying an NBA expansion team would be to just buy his UNLV Runnin鈥� Rebels in this rev-share landscape of NCAA athletics. He noted 鈥渋t鈥檚 legal now鈥� and you鈥檇 have control over the team.
"Sell" ?
— Taylor Rocha (@TaylorRochaTV)
With several groups pursuing an NBA team in Las Vegas, Josh Pastner has a different idea:
"Why buy the NBA team? Buy the college basketball team."
The UNLV head coach tells me he's looking for a $10-12 million backer to become the "owner" of the鈥�
鈥淎ccording to head coach Josh Pastner, for 10 to 12 million dollars, it can all be yours,鈥� read one post on the program鈥檚 social media account, beneath an image of him coaching the team during a practice.
There also was a link posted that led to a landing page dedicated to 鈥渟port-specific funds鈥� donations for all UNLV teams.
Monday, Pastner offered a just-kidding sort of clarification.
鈥淚 want to clarify my recent comments regarding support for the UNLV men鈥檚 basketball program,鈥� he wrote on a graphic, also shared on the team鈥檚 social media accounts. 鈥淭he Runnin鈥� Rebels are not for sale, and my reference to an 鈥榦wner鈥� was meant to highlight the level of resources, sponsorships, and overall support needed to compete in today鈥檚 evolving college athletics landscape 鈥� not to suggest anyone could own the program.鈥�
— UNLV Men's Basketball (@TheRunninRebels)
Pastner went on to say that it is an honor to be the Runnin鈥� Rebels鈥� coach and that the program belongs to UNLV, its students, alumni, fans and Southern Nevada.
Reach Geoff Grammer at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) .
