UNLV: Athletic Director Misspoke, Funds Exist to Cover All Coaches' Salaries

The University of Nevada Las Vegas announced Thursday that athletic director Erick Harper misspoke last week when he told the Board of Regents his department only has enough funds to pay for the first two years of new football coach Dan Mullen’s five-year, $17.5 million contract.

As reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the school said in a statement that Harper made the comments with incomplete information regarding Mullen’s salary, and that his contract and the contracts of the university's other coaches are completely covered.

“UNLV athletics can fulfill all of its coaching contracts,” the statement read, according to the Review-Journal. “To clarify, multiple funding sources cover the costs of all athletics department salaries, including revenues (ticket sales, multi-media rights, etc.), philanthropy, conference revenue distributions, and direct and indirect institutional support.”

Related: AD Admits UNLV Athletics Can Only Cover First Two Years of Football Coach's Contract

At the trustees meeting Friday, UNLV reported a budget shortfall of $26 million, but some regents questioned whether it was closer to $31 million, Mick Akers of the Review-Journal reported, adding the budget report was not approved and will be heard again at a future meeting.

Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday she doesn’t plan on discussing UNLV’s budget issues with school officials. “We rarely get into individual school finances. Every school is different,” she said in a text message, as reported by Akers.