UNM hires UC San Diego's Eric Olen to replace Pitino as men's basketball coach

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The puff of cherry and silver smoke emanating from a chimney on Fern Lovo’s X account Sunday morning said it all.

The University of New Mexico athletic director announced the school has found its new men’s basketball coach. UNM has reached a deal to hire UC San Diego’s Eric Olen to replace Richard Pitino less than a week after Pitino took the job at Xavier.

Details of Olen’s contract have not been made available, but the standard deal for incoming coaches at UNM is in the four- to five-year range with an annual salary of approximately $1.2 million. ESPN's Pete Thamel reports it is a five-year deal with financials not yet disclosed.

Olen, 44, is a veritable UCSD lifer, having spent most of his first decade in coaching as an assistant with the school. He joined the school’s staff straight out of college in 2004 and was promoted to head coach in 2013. He successfully led the school’s transition from Division II to Division I in 2020.

He was 240-119 in his time with the Tritons. He led the team to the D2 national tournament four straight years and had the Tritons at 30-1 during the 2019-20 season, their last in D2. That season’s tournament was canceled due to COVID.

“This is one of the most special programs in college basketball, and my family and I are thrilled to be a part of Lobo Nation,” Olen said in a release issued by UNM. “I can’t wait to get to work and write the next great chapter in New Mexico basketball history.”

UCSD broke through with 30 wins this season and reached the NCAA Tournament as a chic pick to score an upset as a No. 12 seed. The Tritons lost to Michigan in the first round after nearly sending the game to overtime on a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer.

UCSD has had only five seasons in DI. The program spent the first three of those below .500 as members of the Big West, then went 21-12 in 2023-24 and 30-5 this season. This past season was their first year of eligibility for the NCAA Tournament after a four-year transition period for…

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Publish date : 2025-03-30 23:31:00

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