T.J. Otzelberger

T.J. Otzelberger is in his second year as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at UNLV. Prior to this, Otzelberger served as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at South Dakota State University with two NCAA Tournament apperances and one NIT apperance during his three year tenure.

• During his first season leading the UNLV Athletics program, Otzelberger put an emphasis on creating a winning culture and setting a new standard moving forward. Otzelberger guided the Runnin’ Rebels to a tie for second place in the Mountain West, marking the program’s best league finish in 12 years. UNLV also sent shockwaves through the college basketball world with its victory at fourth-ranked and previously undefeated San Diego State, posting the program’s best true road win since 1991 (a span of 29 seasons).
• The Runnin’ Rebels went 17-15 overall in 2019-20 but finished the season on a tear as they won their final five regular-season contests to complete conference play with a 12-6 mark. The dozen league wins represented UNLV’s most since the 2007-08 season. The Runnin’ Rebels exploded out of the conference gate at a 6-1 clip -- their best start in 12 years -- and the five-game win streak leading into the conference tournament was UNLV’s longest to end a regular-season in nine years.
• During his three year tenure at South Dakota State University, Otzelberger compiled an overall record of 70-33, three straight postseason appearances, won the Summit League title in his last two seasons, and won the conference's Coach of the Year award.
• In Otzelberger's first season as a head coach at SDSU, they entered the 2016-17 league tournament as the No. 4 seed and became the first team in the tournament's history to win three games in three days while clinching the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
• Prior to SDSU, Otzelberger served two separate stints as an assistant coach at Iowa State, covering eight seasons. He began his first tour in Ames in 2006 and was later promoted to associate head coach in 2010. The 2011-12 Iowa State team earned a top-25 national ranking for the first time in seven years.