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UNM baseball: Coaching job should be easy sell, Krebs says

Lobos looking to replace Alday after resignation

By Iliana Limón
Tuesday, May 22, 2007

It could be the best bait University of New Mexico Athletics Director Paul Krebs ever had in his tackle box.

Krebs is fishing for a new head baseball coach, with 18-year head coach Rich Alday's announcing his resignation Monday afternoon.

Instead of talking up the potential of the Lobos' up-and-coming facilities, Krebs gets to show off Isotopes Park and Albuquerque's mild weather that helps a baseball soar out of the park.

The Lobos have a partnership with the Isotopes to use the facility as their home field, an award-winning minor league ballpark.

"I think a whole lot of people are going to be keen on this job," Krebs said Monday. "I am excited about the type of candidates who should step forward for this position and what they'll be capable of doing here in New Mexico."

Along with the ballpark, Krebs said the state's strong commitment to baseball should make it easier to attract a good coach to bolster the Lobos' lineup.

The coaching change could be a boost for a program that had struggled lately.

Although Alday is the winningest coach in school history with a 513-511-3 record, the Lobos rarely have been in contention for the Mountain West Conference title since 2000. UNM also gave up a full and partial scholarship this year after failing to meet stricter NCAA academic standards.

The Lobos are competing this week in the double-elimination conference tournament in Las Vegas, Nev., and Alday will coach UNM through the end of this season.

The Lobos finished tied for third in the regular season, going 26-28 overall and 12-12 in league play. The fifth-seeded Lobos face fourth-seeded San Diego State in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in a game to be televised by the Mountain.

Krebs said Alday's resignation was a mutual decision, and he praised Alday's work in building up a UNM baseball program that had seen little success before his tenure.

"Rich has given a lot to this program and to the Lobos, and we both felt that it was the right time for him to step away," Krebs said.

Alday could not be reached for comment. He was traveling by bus with the baseball team to Las Vegas when his resignation was announced Monday.

"We had a great 18 years," Alday said in news release issued by UNM. "We had some outstanding athletes, including several All-America performers, who put up some impressive numbers. Working with the student-athletes is what I will miss the most."

During his tenure, Alday led UNM to a regular-season conference title in 2000 and won league coach of the year honors three times. He has coached 56 all-conference honorees and 34 athletes selected in the Major League Baseball draft.

Krebs said he has offered Alday an administrative position in the athletics department, but the coach hasn't made a decision about his future.

"It will give him a chance to still be around the program and the athletes he really loves supporting," Krebs said. "We hope he'll continue to lend his expertise to the program."