Nevada Lures Foster From Houston’s Coach

Nevada named a new basketball coach on Monday, three weeks after firing its former one. Pat Foster was handed the challenge of a losing team and an incentive to lure fans back.

“I want to assure you that you’ll have a quality basketball team,” Foster said at a news conferences. “I’ve never suffered through a losing season and I don’t want to start now.”

The other finalists were former Laker and Loyola Marymount coach Paul Westhead and Cal State Fullerton coach Brad Holland.

Foster made $107,000 at Houston. Nevada offered a base salary of $115,000 plus a guaranteed $15,000 radio, television and appearance clause in a five-year contract. Foster also will get $1 a head for each fan above 4,500 at home games.

“If we walk in and see a full house, we’ll both be smiling,” Chris Ault, Nevada’s athletic director, said.

The Wolf Pack was 9-17 this season, Len Stevens’ sixth as coach and Nevada’s first in the Big West Conference.

Nevada averaged 4,427 fans in 11,140-seat Lawlor Events Center. Ault said Foster would receive a maximum of $4,500 for each of the 14 home games, which could boost his paycheck by $63,000.

“There was nothing at Houston that ran me off,” Foster said, denying he was unhappy there. “It was the challenge of taking on a program that really wants to be a top-notch program.”

Foster, 53, had a 142-72 record in seven years at Houston. His team was 21-9 this year, losing to Texas Tech in the Southwest Conference tournament final and to Texas El Paso in the first round of the National Invitational tournament.