SDSU Chilly to Tarkanian : Basketball: UNLV coach interested in Aztecs, but Day said to be reluctant.

Nevada Las Vegas basketball Coach Jerry Tarkanian confirmed his interest in the San Diego State job Saturday, but SDSU President Thomas Day has all but formally nixed the idea, university sources said.

Sources said that Fred Miller, SDSU athletic director, has met with Day at least twice regarding Tarkanian and that Day has had a negative reaction during each discussion.

“I don’t have any reaction,” Day said when asked about Tarkanian before Saturday’s SDSU-Hawaii basketball game. “I don’t want to discuss the personnel process.”

Still, SDSU athletic department officials have obtained reports from both the NCAA and UNLV documenting Tarkanian’s history of NCAA troubles for further study and that Day remains skeptical because he is worried about tarnishing the university’s reputation.

“President Day’s opinions to me in private are not going to become a public controversy,” Miller said. “The day we’re not together on something should be the day he should have another athletic director.

“There will be a uniform front. I talk to President Day often.”

Tarkanian, while confirming interest in the SDSU job Saturday, said that he has not spoken with Miller--the coach’s old boss at Cal State Long Beach--since the firing of Jim Brandenburg on Tuesday.

“I’m definitely interested in finding out more about the job,” Tarkanian said Saturday. “Fred and I talk all the time, but he had a coach, so (a job) never came up. . . .

“It’s an attractive job in many ways. It’s a great city and a great university with a great academic reputation. All of my previous jobs (at Cal State Long Beach and UNLV) have been at really young universities.”

Asked if he had an indication of how SDSU feels about hiring him, Tarkanian said he didn’t.

“I really don’t know,” he said.

Tarkanian, who owns a condominium in Pacific Beach, already has an indication as to the city of San Diego’s opinion. He learned Friday night that, in a San Diego newspaper poll, about 80% of those responding said they would hire him as coach.

“That made me feel really good,” he said. “I’m really happy about that.”

Miller, though, wouldn’t even admit that Tarkanian was a candidate.

“We’re not there yet,” Miller said. “We have the season under way and we have an interim head coach. Any other kind of input is frivolous right now.”

Asked directly if Tarkanian is a candidate, Miller said: “We will handle it according to standard university procedure. We are affirmative action employers, and we will follow that course explicitly.”

As if Tarkanian weren’t already controversial enough, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported this week that there is a federal investigation into point shaving last season.

“Those kinds of allegations are serious allegations,” Miller said. “They rock the foundation of sports.

“Whatever anonymous source that was responsible for that had better step up to bat. That is extremely, extremely, extremely serious stuff.”

Asked directly whether the point shaving allegations would affect Tarkanian’s status with SDSU, Miller again was noncommittal.

“I can’t respond to that,” he said. “That’s not for me to say. We’ll maintain the stance that we are an affirmative-action employer.”

Day, when asked about the point shaving investigation, said: “All I’ll say about that is that (UNLV) President (Robert) Maxson has my sympathy.”

Although Tarkanian is the main focus, sources say that two other coaches interest SDSU--Pepperdine’s Tom Asbury and Colorado’s Joe Harrington. Apparently, SDSU is interested in each coach’s Los Angeles connections for recruiting purposes.

Asbury is in his fourth season at Pepperdine after taking over from, coincidentally, UCLA coach Jim Harrick Sr.--the father of SDSU’s interim coach.

Harrington, in his second season at Colorado, formerly coached at Cal State Long Beach.

Although Miller didn’t discuss specific names, he did say he has talked with some coaches.

“It should come as no surprise that I’ve talked to a number of people about the coaching vacancy,” Miller said. “And that includes Jim Harrick Jr.”

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, Tarkanian waits.

“I’m sure Fred and I will talk,” he said. “I don’t know in what direction they’re going to go.”