LAS VEGAS (AP) — UNLV basketball coach Dave Rice has resigned in the middle of his fifth season after the struggling Runnin' Rebels opened Mountain West Conference play with three straight losses.
Associate head coach Todd Simon will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season, Rebels athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy announced Sunday night.
Rice was under pressure to win this season after UNLV failed to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season in 2014-15. Despite a solid group of returning players and a stellar recruiting class headed by Stephen Zimmerman, the Runnin' Rebels failed to live up to expectations.
UNLV lost 59-57 to Wyoming on Saturday night, dropping to 9-7. Rice, a member of the Runnin' Rebels' 1990 NCAA championship team, was 98-54 at UNLV.