Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Report: South Florida offers head coaching vacancy to UNLV’s Dave Rice

rice

Days after making the decision to not offer its vacant head coaching position to Steve Masiello due to a discrepancy on the Manhattan head coach’s resume, South Florida reportedly has its sights set on a new candidate.

According to Matt Youmans of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the school has been in contact with UNLV head coach Dave Rice and reportedly offered him a five-year contract worth $1.2 million per season. Rice currently has a base salary of $700,000 at UNLV, and in three seasons at the Mountain West school he has a record of 71 wins and 32 losses.

Sources indicated Rice was contacted by South Florida officials soon after the school rescinded an offer to Manhattan’s Steve Masiello, whose deal fell through after he failed a background check.

Rice’s contract at UNLV has three years remaining at $700,000 per year. A proposed two-year extension for Rice has not been forwarded to the Board of Regents.


UNLV finished the 2013-14 season with a 20-13 record, a mark seen as disappointing by many who expected the Runnin’ Rebels to not only contend in the Mountain West but also reach the NCAA tournament. The offseason was expected to be an intriguing one due in part to the arrival of one of the nation’s best recruiting classes, which includes guard Rashad Vaughn (who hasn’t signed a letter of intent yet), wing Dwayne Morgan and center Goodluck Okonoboh.

UNLV will also add San Francisco transfer Cody Doolin, who will be the facilitator the team desperately needed this season. However with the report of Rice holding an offer from South Florida, UNLV could be faced with another hole to fill.

Follow @raphiellej