The UCLA Bruins have filled their head coaching vacancy hiring Steve Alford to replace Ben Howland on Saturday. UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said in a conference call that Alford will receive a seven-year, $18.2 million contract. Guerrero said Alford will be paid a $2.6 million a year plus a $200,000 signing bonus and that Alford would have to pay a buyout to New Mexico but that UCLA would work with him.
"It's been a difficult morning to tell a team that I dearly love and a team and built last six years," Alford said in a Saturday afternoon news conference in Albuquerque. "I'm proud of my time and the opportunity given at New Mexico. I very much look forward to taking the helm at UCLA."
Alford will officially be introduced by the Bruins at a news conference held in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Alford replaces Howland, who spent 10 years as the Bruins' head coach, before being fired after a second round NCAA tournament loss to Minnesota.
"I have been so fortunate and blessed in my life, and an opportunity to lead the one of the greatest programs in college basketball history is once in a lifetime," Alford said in a statement released by the school.
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