UNLV Lady Rebels Head Coach Lindy La Rocque: "I Can Try To Protect The Culture"

UNLV Lady Rebels Head Coach Lindy La Rocque speaks about dealing with the changing landscape of college sports.

UNLV Lady Rebels head coach Lindy La Rocque reacts to a play against the Michigan Wolverines during the first half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The UNLV Lady Rebels women's basketball team is coming off another win to push their record in the Mountain West Conference up to 8 - 1 and their overall record to 13 - 6. They are led by head coach Lindy La Rocque, who has found massive success since taking the job at UNLV. Few coaches have done such a great job of adjusting and sustaining success through all the changes to the college basketball landscape. She sat down with the UNLV official website to talk about how she deals with those changes.

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"Our young people are not naive to which of their teammates might be making more money — especially once things go public," La Rocque said. "But we try hard to teach them how to be adults in this financial space. Because out in the real world, not all salaries are equal.

Part of my approach also has been, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” That’s one way I can try to protect the culture: If you have been given a major blessing, then the expectation is going to be different for you — as it is in life, as it is in professional sports."

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"This is where I believe women’s sports finds its niche, with fans having an investment in the stories of individual players. That is a huge piece of how we get fans in the stands — and get them to come back and bring their friends.

But it’s also important to turn the focus back to the whole program. Because we are a program that has won [conference] championships, we have this platform for our individual players to stand out."

La Rocque On Winning Solving Most Problems

"You would think so! And, for us, that’s the part we’ve tried to control. Whether it’s player retention or building the fan base, we want people around our program who value winning — on the court and in society.

The reality is not everyone shares that same mindset. So there will be players who [prioritize] something else, and that’s OK. It just gives us an opportunity to find other young women who do value what we value."

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