'End Of An Error,' Then Steve Alford 'Gushed' Over the Presence Of Cedar Rapids Reporter Jim Ecker At His First Press Conference In New Mexico

Mark Robinson of Iowa City says he thinks Steve Alford might have a future as a politician.

My guess is that Alford might be better at that than he is as a basketball coach.

Alford, who has left Iowa and now is New Mexico's coach, had some good things to say about Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Gazette sportswriter Jim Ecker in his first press conference at Albuquerque.

Here's what Robinson wrote to me in an e-mail:

"Hello, Ron;

"You wrote today: "My West Coast Correspondent tells me Jim Ecker of the Cedar Rapids Gazette flew to Albuquerque for Alford's press conference today. Good for the Gazette."

"I saw the press conference online and not only was Ecker on hand, Alford gushed over him. He mentioned him in the body of his speech and, when the presser was over and with the camera still running, told Jim that it really meant a lot for him to be there.

"Based upon theses last eight years of observing Steve Alford, I feel that, after basketball, he has a future in politics.

"Keep writing,"

Mark Robinson

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Here's what Ecker wrote for his newspaper from Albuquerque, courtesy of the Gazette's web page:

Warm welcome, $975K salary greet Alford

By Jim Ecker
The Gazette

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. New Mexico is called the Land of Enchantment. It says so on the license plates, so it must be true. So far, Steve Alford has to agree.

Very few people out here care about Pierre Pierce or even know who he is or what he did, and they don't seem to care a whole lot that Alford won only one NCAA tournament game at Iowa in eight years or that he had a losing record in Big Ten regular-season games.

There were a few uncomfortable headlines in the Albuquerque Journal Friday morning after it was learned Alford was leaving Iowa to become the head coach at the University of New Mexico, calling the move ``A $700K Gamble'' and declaring ``UNM Takes a Risk With Alford.''

That couldn't have made Alford or his bosses at New Mexico happy, and there's no telling what the Journal will say today after everyone learned Alford will be making $975K instead of $700K. That's right, it's a six-year deal worth $975,000 a year, higher than the base salary he had at Iowa.

But other than a few headlines and a grumpy columnist out here, the Land of Enchantment lived up to its name when more than 300 New Mexico students, fans, faculty members, administrators and media types packed Ballroom A at the Student Union to greet the Lobos' head basketball coach Friday afternoon.

Alford arrived in a snappy dark suit but quickly traded his suit coat for a bright red jacket that seemed to fit just fine. That's Lobo red, eerily similar to the Hoosier red he wore as an All-American and golden boy at the University of Indiana, culminating in an NCAA title in 1987.

``It's been nearly 20 years since I've had this color on,'' Alford said after slipping into his new clothes, beaming. ``It was pretty magical the last time. So I hope we have very similar magic.''

New Mexico played in seven NCAA tournaments in the 1990s when Dave Bliss was the head coach and made it again in 2005 under Ritchie McKay, but McKay got a pink slip in February and UNM Athletics Director Paul Krebs immediately put Alford's name on a ``wish list'' of about 15 possible candidates, not knowing if he'd be interested.

It turns out he was, perhaps to escape the possibility of getting his own pink slip at Iowa next year or possibly just to get a fresh start and follow his ``gut feeling,'' as Alford said several times Friday in explaining why he took the job.

Alford said all the right things about great fans, great administrators and special players at Iowa, but there's a reason he's not a Hawkeye anymore. He talked about the ``great passion'' for basketball he's found at New Mexico, praising the university president and noting Iowa has gone more than a year without a president of its own. He also loves the practice facility that's attached to ``The Pit,'' the affectionate name for the 40-year-old New Mexico arena that's due for a facelift soon.

There's been more apathy than anything else at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in recent years, and few people shed any tears Thursday when Alford called it quits. At New Mexico, he's being greeted by school administrators as a possible savior, and Friday's press conference felt and sounded like the one at Carver-Hawkeye eight years ago when Bob Bowlsby hired Alford away from Southwest Missouri State.

``This guy has been our No.1 target from the very beginning,'' Krebs said. ``We got the guy we wanted.''

Krebs, who used to work at Ohio State, has to know what some people were saying about Alford in Big Ten country, about the Pierce scandals and the empty seats in Iowa City and the ambivalence (at best) about Alford's tenure as head coach. Sure, he won two Big Ten tournaments and had a school-record seven straight winning seasons, but the majority of the fan base wasn't buying anymore.

Out here, Krebs talked about Alford's victories over Top 25 programs, his basketball pedigree under Bob Knight and his ability to recruit and develop players (Iowa fans might disagree, but they're not the ones who get to throw $975K at oaches).

Incidentally, Krebs shot down conjecture that Knight had played a significant role in the process here, describing Knight's role as ``minimal.'' New Mexico President David Schmidly was the president at Texas Tech when the Red Raiders hired Knight, which fanned the speculation about Knight's having been involved.

After Krebs drew up his list of candidates, he contacted Alford's agent and one thing led to another. Krebs had his first face-to-face meeting with Alford Tuesday and by Thursday, Alford was saying goodbye to the Hawkeyes. It happened that fast.

``We knew once we started a courtship, we would either consummate the marriage or walk away,'' Krebs said.

They exchanged vows, and now New Mexico has the man it says it wanted.

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[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Nice going, Jim Ecker. I fully expect your bosses to give you a big fat pay raise when you get back home, and maybe they'll even assign you to cover New Mexico's first game next season when Steve Alford will probably wear that idiotic bright red coat].

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R. H. of Des Moines also wrote to me about the Gazette sending Jim Ecker to Albuquerque:

"Ron,

"Good job of the Gazette for sending Jim Ecker out to Albuquerque for Steve's press conference. The Gannett Mafia at 715 Locust couldn't go-line to Priceline.com to find an afforable plane ticket to send Randy, Keeler, or someone else to Albuquerque?

"I was hoping that [Gazette sports columnist] Mike Hlas would have made the trip as well. Alford would have had the same thoughts that Lute had when you showed up in Tucson.

"Alford: Oh crap, what's this 'freakin' guy from Iowa' doing here? Did he just take a job with the Albuquerque Journal?

"The conspriacy theorist of me have this feeling that Barta may add another guy to the candidate list: Steve McClain. McClain coached Wyoming when Barta was the AD out there. McClain was let go a couple of weeks ago after a fair-to-middlin' season. But, I would rather defer all recommendations to Al Schallau. He's much wiser than this young scribe!"

R.H.
Des Moines

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Ecker has been a pretty tough reporter for the Gazette over the years -- especially when he and Hayden Fry tangled a few times during Fry's term as Iowa's football coach. But maybe Ecker has mellowed in recent years. It sure sounds like Alford has no problems with him. As for native Iowan Steve McClain, I hope he lands on his feet somewhere as a basketball coach. I doubt that Gary Barta would be able to sell him to Hawkeye fans at this stage].

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A guy I know in the newspaper business sent me this e-mail:

"Wish I were writing the headline for Alford's departure:"

End of an Error

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Photo of Steve Alford putting on his new red coat in New Mexico courtesy of the Associated Press and the Gazette.