For the second time in his basketball career, 84-year-old Lou Henson will serve New Mexico State without compensation.
The first occasion came in 1997 when, a year after retirement at Illinois, Henson accepted an emergency situation and coached the Aggies in 1997-98, declining pay. He then went on salary as head coach until midway in the 2004-05 campaign, when illness forced him to step down with a three-school career record of 775-420.
Presently residing in Champaign, he’ll participate in the Illini basketball reunion Sept. 10 (around the UI-North Carolina football game) and return to Las Cruces in late September to serve as an adviser for new Aggies coach Paul Weir.