UNLV baseball coach Chambers gets $40,000 raise
The price for getting UNLV’s baseball team to the postseason for the first time in nine years is $40,000, or the amount of the raise on coach Tim Chambers’ new five-year deal.
He will make at least $150,000 annually, including $125,000 in base pay. The other $25,000 comes from media obligations.
Chambers also has the potential to make another $25,000 in incentives that are based on ticket sales, but he has the flexibility to split that extra pay with his assistants.
Should Chambers be named Mountain West Coach of the Year, he would receive a $5,000 bonus.
The contract won’t be finalized until Dan Klaich, chancellor for the Nevada System of Higher Education, signs off. Athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy felt confident the process was far enough along to release the details Tuesday.
“I think it’s a game-changer,” she said of the contract. “Tim Chambers is our coach. He does a good job, and it just gets better. I always felt this was where he wanted to be. … Baseball was pretty exciting this year, and we have a great confidence in him to do a great job.”
Chambers, 49, is 132-101 in four seasons at UNLV, and this year he led the Rebels to an NCAA regional for the first time since 2005. The Rebels also shared the regular-season Mountain West championship.
Two of his players went in the top 100 in the draft for the first time in program history. Pitcher Erick Fedde was selected in the first round and 18th overall by the Washington Nationals, and pitcher John Richy went in the third round and 98th overall to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Certainly, I didn’t want to uproot my family and go anywhere else,” said Chambers, who previously coached at College of Southern Nevada and Bishop Gorman High School. “I wanted to finish what I started here because I don’t feel like I’m done yet. It’s nice to know that the current AD, president (Don Snyder) and administration are behind me, and they’ve proven that by making it a five-year deal when most coaches get three.
“The kids that are coming in know that I’m going to be here for the duration.”
Kunzer-Murphy said another announcement is expected in about a month that also will greatly affect the baseball program but that it was premature to provide details. Whether it’s related to a new clubhouse Chambers long has been interested in building remains to be seen.
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.