UNLV football's math isn't mathing as program may not be able to pay new head coach

The UNLV football program made a massive splash when they announced that former Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen would be the next head coach for their program.

Mullen has had two stops in his head coaching career, both inside the SEC with Mississippi State and Florida. Now, Mullen will look to keep the UNLV program going strong after the team had great success under former coach Barry Odom, who is now the head coach at Purdue.

However, the Mullen era is already off to a rough start. The Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that the program may not be able to afford Mullen.

UNLV head football coach Dan Mullen’s stay might be shorter than expected.

The university reportedly only has the funds to pay for the first two years of his five-year, $17.5 million contract.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 13, 2025

Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that the UNLV athletic department is between $26 million and $31 million in debt.

Not the kind of news you want to hear if your Mullen, who signed a $17.5 million contract. However, this isn't Mullen's problem.

This story just proves that whoever is in charge at UNLV, Erick Harper, may not have any idea of how to run an athletic department.

The UNLV Rebels celebrate after defeating the California Golden Bears in the LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Now, I do have experience in changing concession prices and ticket prices, thanks to Madden. However, that doesn't mean I'm ready to run an athletic department.

This issue feels like it should have never come to this, yet here we are, talking about a massive failure by the UNLV athletic department.

Either way, Mullen will get his money, and we can blame him. But for now, if I were Mullen, I would treat this like a volunteer position until I knew my checks wouldn't bounce.

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