Randy Bennett reportedly turned down offer from UNLV

Saint Mary’s head basketball coach Randy Bennett apparently was pursued by UNLV for their head coaching job, but he turned it down, according to a report.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Mark Anderson says UNLV offered Bennett the job for $1.5 million per season.

According to source, Bennett at Saint Mary's turned down a $1.5 million offer to coach #UNLVmbb #RJnow

— Mark Anderson (@markanderson65) March 27, 2016

Bennett has been at Saint Mary’s since 2001 and turned down many coaching offers since — this being the latest. Pac-12 schools like Oregon, Oregon State, Cal and Utah were also said to have pursued him at some point in the past.

UNLV fired Dave Rice mid-season and had Todd Simon take over for him. The Rebels played in the tournament in four consecutive seasons spanning both Rice and predecessor Lon Kruger’s tenure, but they slipped in recent years and went 18-15 this season and last. The Rebels are hoping to achieve the success they enjoyed during the ’80s and early-’90s under the late Jerry Tarkanian. They are currently talking with New Mexico State’s Marvin Menzies and Arkansas-Little Rock’s Chris Beard.