Lobo hoops fill vacant coaching spot; Aggies promote Miller

Paul Weir has filled the two-month old coaching vacancy on the Lobos bench.

The third-year UNM men’s basketball head coach on Thursday announced the hiring of Dan McHale, the 38-year-old former head coach at Eastern Kentucky University as the third assistant coach on the Lobos staff, filling the vacancy of former four-year associate head coach Chris Harriman who left in April for a job at Cal.

“I am thrilled to be joining the UNM basketball program and excited to be part of such a rich basketball tradition,” McHale said in a prepared statement released to the media by UNM on Thursday afternoon, “I have known coach Weir for quite a while and have the utmost admiration and respect for him.”

Terms of the contract — both financial and length — have not been released by UNM, though it is expected McHale, a New Jersey native, will receive a twoyear contract like his two UNM assistant coach colleagues, Jerome Robinson and Brandon Mason, who are both entering the second season of their two-year contracts and the third season overall with UNM.

Harriman stood to take a significant pay cut going into this season per his contract and McHale’s salary is expected to be in the $150,000 range.

“Dan is a tremendous addition to our team,” Weir said in the release. “His blend of acumen and enthusiasm will be a great injection into our program. His experience as a Division I head coach, at the highest levels of college basketball, and in our style of play make him a perfect addition for us. We are lucky to have someone of his experience joining our team.”

McHale, unlike Harriman, Robinson or Mason, has head coaching experience, an area lacking on the UNM staff where Weir had just one season as a head coach before taking the Lobos job in 2017.

McHale’s EKU teams went a combined 38-55 in three seasons before he was fired in 2018. McHale did not coach this past season, but was paid by the school as part of his buyout.

He has been an assistant at Minnesota, Seton Hall and Iona and was a staff member under Rick Pitino at Louisville.

McHale has a wife, Jackie, two daughers, Lilly and Molly, and a son, Daniel.

“My family and I are looking forward to being a part of the Albuquerque community and contributing to a great program, one with one of the best fan bases in the country,” McHale said in the UNM release.

PROMOTION: NMSU on Thursday promoted James Miller to associate head coach after one season on the Aggies bench as an assistant.

“James is a young, rising star in our profession and has been a wonderful addition to our coaching staff,” NMSU head coach Chris Jans said in a prepared statement. “His well-rounded skill set and wide range of experience has proven to be invaluable to our program.”

Miller coached at North Texas for a season prior to heading to Las Cruces and was also an assistant and head coach at New Mexico junior College in the past.