The 1974–75 Lobo team was depleted by graduation and slipped to a 13–13 record. Ellenberger began relying heavily on recruiting Junior College (JC) transfers, a tactic that would lead to his best season as Lobo coach but later to his downfall. The 1975–76 team improved to 16–11 with a largely mercenary squad of JC transfers who would later quit the team before the end of the season. A memorable highlight of the season was the first game in a brief but intense rivalry with UNLV before the teams were in the same conference. Ellenberger was well-respected as a teacher of defense, and he was a frequent participant in basketball coaching camps and workshops, where he became friends with UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian. In January 1976, #4 UNLV survived a scare from the underdog Lobos before a Pit-record crowd of 19,452, with fans overflowing onto the concourse and sitting in the stairways, a game still lauded as one of the greatest and loudest ever in The Pit.