UNLV Rebels
| UNLV Rebels | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | University of Nevada, Las Vegas |
| Conference | Mountain West Conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Tina Kunzer-Murphy (interim) |
| Location | Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| Varsity teams | 16 |
| Football stadium | Sam Boyd Stadium |
| Basketball arena |
Thomas & Mack Center or T-Mobile Arena (Men's) Cox Pavilion (Women's) |
| Baseball stadium | Earl Wilson Stadium |
| Soccer stadium | Peter Johann Soccer Field |
| Mascot | Hey Reb! |
| Nickname |
Rebels Runnin' Rebels (basketball) |
| Fight song | "Win with the Rebels" and "UNLV Go Fight Win! |
| Colors |
Scarlet and Gray[1] |
| Website |
www |
The UNLV Rebels are the collegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, consisting of 16 varsity teams. The university is simply called UNLV for athletics purposes; its sports teams are nicknamed the Rebels. They compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for football) as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The school's colors are scarlet and gray.
The Rebels' main rival is the Nevada Wolf Pack, who are also a member of the Mountain West Conference. As the two major universities located in the state of Nevada, the schools celebrate a heated rivalry in several sports. The most well-known of these games is the Battle for Nevada, a football game held each year in which the winner takes home the Fremont Cannon, a refurbished 19th century howitzer that is the largest and most expensive trophy in collegiate football. Many of the Rebels teams have variations of the team name, such as the Runnin' Rebels for men's basketball; Hustlin' Rebels was an unofficial nickname for the baseball team, but it's not used any longer.
The 1990 Runnin' Rebels basketball team defeated Duke University 103–73, to win the NCAA National Championship, UNLV's first Division I National Championship in one of the three major sports. The UNLV golf team won the school's second team National Championship in 1998. The Rebels also have won six individual national championships: 2 men's golf, 2 men's tennis, 2 women's track and field.[2]
Men's sports
Baseball
| Baseball retired numbers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Years |
| 13 | Fred Dallimore[lower-alpha 1] | 1974–1996 |
| 15 | Matt Williams[4] | 1984–1986 |
The Hustlin' Rebels are the baseball team at UNLV and play their games at Earl E. Wilson Stadium at Roger Barnson Field which seats 3,000 and is on the UNLV campus. The stadium opened in 1994. In 1997, the infield playing surface was replaced and the outfield fences was replaced with a new fence that stands 12 ft high. In 2007 the stadium received a new playing surface. In 2010, the infield grass was replaced, new black padding was installed behind the backstop, a fresh halo was installed around the batting circle and the facility received a fresh coat of red paint. Future plans call for a new clubhouse, a new synthetic outfield surface, an overhang for the bleachers, a two-story press box, new batting cages and a video scoreboard to replace the scoreboard which was installed in 2009.
Famous Hustlin' Rebels include Marty Cordova, Cecil Fielder, Toby Hall, Ryan Ludwick, Todd Stottlemyre and Matt Williams.
Men's basketball
The most decorated team at UNLV is the Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team, which plays at the Thomas & Mack Center @ Jerry Tarkanian Court which seats 18,776 for basketball and is on the UNLV campus (they may play some games at T-Mobile Arena, which opened in 2016 and seats 20,000 for basketball). The arena opened in 1983 and received a major interior and exterior renovation prior to the start of the 1999–2000 season. In 2005, the court was named Tarkanian Court in honor of former head coach Jerry "Tark the Shark" Tarkanian who coached UNLV from 1973–1992 and had a record of 509–105 (.829) during that run. 2008 saw the installation of all new visual equipment which included a 4-sided new center-hung LED widescreen scoreboard.
In 2008, ESPN.com released its ESPN's Prestige Rankings, a method of ranking the best Division I men's college basketball programs since the 1984–85 season. Of the 300 teams ranked, the Runnin' Rebels came in at #8. In a list compiled by Forbes in 2010, UNLV earned mention among the nation's most valuable college basketball teams. The Rebels checked in at No. 20, with a listed team value of $12.9 million and a profit of $8.3 million this year. On the 2009 list, UNLV was No. 16. UNLV is one of two programs from outside of the six power conferences listed. UNLV also currently holds the NCAA record for most consecutive games with a made three-pointer. The Runnin' Rebels have made at least one three-point goal in each game since the rule was adopted universally for the 1986-87 season. The last time UNLV failed to make a three-pointer was January 25, 1986 against Long Beach State.
UNLV has also seen great success in the NCAA Tournament with .673 winning percentage in the tournament including four Final Four appearances and a national title in 1990 in a 103–73 runaway over Duke – the highest margin of victory in NCAA tournament championship game history. The Runnin' Rebels have the 7th highest NCAA tournament winning percentage with a min. of 20 tournament games played. They also saw success at the NCAA Small College division having appeared in 4 NCAA Tournament appearances including national runner-up in 1968.
They have won 25 conference championships (11 Regular Season/14 Tournament) including three Mountain West Conference Tournament championships, the most in the conference. The Runnin' Rebels have made 17 NCAA Division 1 Tournament appearances including 4 Final Four appearances. The 1991 Runnin' Rebels are the last team to enter the NCAA Tournament with an undefeated record. The Runnin' Rebels have also appeared in 3 Pre-Season NIT tournaments including 2 Final Fours and 1 Pre-Season NIT championship, and 10 NIT tournaments including 1 Final Four appearance.
Famous Runnin' Rebels include Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Marcus Banks, Larry Johnson, Shawn Marion and Reggie Theus. The Runnin' Rebels have had 3 Olympians, 4 times including 2 Olympic Bronze Medalists, 18 All-Americans, 26 times, 1 John Wooden Award winner, and 12 NBA first round draft picks.
In 2010, UNLV announced the construction of the Mendenhall Center which will be the new practice home for the Runnin' Rebels. The Mendenhall Center broke ground in October 2010 and will be attached to the south side of the COX Pavilion and will have a total of 38,000 square feet (3,500 m2) of space on three levels. Included will be two basketball courts, an academic area and film room, locker rooms, athletic training, strength and conditioning, and equipment areas. The facility will be complete in the Spring of 2011. The Lady Rebels will continue to practice on the lower level of the Cox Pavilion which has its own women's locker facilities, player lounges and practice courts for woman's basketball and volleyball.
Football
The UNLV Rebels football team plays at Sam Boyd Stadium, an off campus stadium which seats 36,800 (with the ability to seat more than 40,000 if needed) for football and is owned and operated by the university. The stadium originally opened on October 23, 1971, as the Las Vegas Stadium and was renamed the Las Vegas Silver Bowl in 1978. In 1984, it was renamed Sam Boyd Silver Bowl and Sam Boyd Stadium in 1994. The stadium closed in 1998 and had a reopening in 1999 after a major face lift and renovation that featured an increase from 32,000 seats to 36,800 seats, a renovation of the concourse level, a new press tower featuring luxury suites and club seats and a switch from artificial turf to natural grass. 2003 saw the natural grass replaced with a synthetic surface. In 2009, new Dream Suites were installed in both end zones.
The Rebels were once a powerhouse in Division II before jumping to Division I-A (now Division I FBS) and have seen some trouble since their promotion. Although the Rebels have faced some adversity, they are one of the only teams to be undefeated in bowl games, winning the California Bowl in 1984 (subsequently forfeited due to ineligible players) and the Las Vegas Bowl twice in 1994 and 2000. The Rebels have only won 2 conference championships in their history, both in the Big West Conference. They have had 9 All-Americans, 13 times, 9 Conference MVPs, 1 Conference Student Athlete of the Year, 3 Conference Coaches of the Year, 4 Conference Freshman of the Year and 2 Freshman All-Americans.
UNLV's football rivals include the University of Nevada, Reno, with whom UNLV plays in the annual Battle for Nevada in which the winner is awarded the Fremont Cannon and BYU, because of the large Mormon population in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Famous Rebels football players include Randall Cunningham, Suge Knight, Kenny Mayne, Keenan McCardell, Adam Seward and Ickey Woods. In July 2010, John Robinson became the first UNLV player or head coach enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame.
The Rebels practice on campus at the largest football practice facility in the country, Bill "Wildcat" Morris Rebel Park at Ernie Becker, Sr. Football Fields.
Men's golf
The Rebels men's golf team is a perennial powerhouse in the NCAA, routinely making the top 25 every season. The Rebels home course is the par-72 Southern Highlands Golf Club which is rated as one of the top private clubs in the country. The course opened in 2000.
The golf team has won one team national title (1998) and has produced two individual national champions (Warren Schutte in 1991 and Ryan Moore in 2004), as well as seven conference championships (Big West: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996; Mountain West: 2000, 2002, 2016), 21 consecutive NCAA berths, four NCAA West Regional titles, six conference individual titles, 21 All-Americans (39 times), three NCAA Regional medalists, two National Coach of the Year awards, one Ben Hogan Award winner, one Jack Nicklaus Award winner, one Haskins Award winner, one Golfstat Award winner, one National Freshman of the Year, 10 Conference MVPs and two Conference Freshman of the Year winners. The golf program has turned out numerous PGA Tour pros including Ryan Moore, Chad Campbell,[5] Chris Riley, Adam Scott,[6] Charley Hoffman, Bill Lunde and Andres Gonzales.[5]
Men's soccer
| Men's soccer retired numbers | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Player(s) | Career |
| 10 | David Cohen[lower-alpha 2] | |
| 10 | Rob Ryerson[lower-alpha 2] | 1983–1985 |
The men's and women's soccer teams play at Robert J. Miller Soccer Building and Peter F. Johann Memorial Soccer Field, respectively, which seats 2,500 and is located on the UNLV campus. The Memorial Soccer Field opened in 1983 and the Soccer Building opened in 1990. In 2006, the entire field was replaced. The men's soccer team competes in the Western Athletic Conference, while the women compete in the Mountain West.
The men's team has made 5 NCAA tournament appearances, has won 4 conference championships, 1 conference tournament championship, have had 5 All-Americans, have had 5 Conference MVPs, 2 Conference Coach of the Years and 1 Conference Freshman of the Year. Dating back to 1975 the men's soccer team has had the support of Las Vegas businessman, Ken Johann and his wife Alice. After the passing of their son Peter from a sports related accident, they decided to honor their son with a memorial scholarship that is given out every year. The Peter Johann Memorial Scholarship assists one student-athlete who demonstrates excellence in six areas: academic performance, techniques and tactics of soccer, team loyalty, cooperation, leadership and endurance.
Men's swimming and diving
The Men’s Swimming and Diving team train at the Buchanan Natatorium, which seats apx. 1,200 people. The Natatorium opened in 1974, originally dubbed the "UNLV Natatorium". It was renamed as the Buchanan Natatorium in 1980, as dedication to the former Nevada System Board of Regent James L. "Bucky" Buchanan II.
The team has won 10 conference championships in the past 11 years. They also have had 20 All-Americans, 11 conference MVPs and 8 conference Coaches of the Year. The men compete in the Western Athletic Conference while the women compete in the Mountain West Conference.
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Men's tennis
The men's and women's tennis squads compete at the Frank and Vicki Fertitta Tennis Complex which seats 2,000 and is on the UNLV campus. The facility opened in 1993 and features 12 lighted courts and a stadium club. The men's tennis team has had 2 NCAA individual national champions, has 3 Collegiate Grand Slam titles, has made 7 NCAA tournament appearance, has won 4 Conference championships, has had 5 All-Americans, 9 times, 6 Conference MVPs, 3 Conference Coaches of the Year and 2 Conference Freshman of the Years. Won conference in 2016.
Women's sports
Women's basketball
| Women's basketball retired numbers | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Player | Career |
| 4 | Misty Thomas[8] | 1982–1986 |
| 13 | Linda Fröhlich | 1998–2002 |
| 50 | Pauline Jordan | 1987–1990 |
The Lady Rebels started play during the 1974–75 season and have an overall record of 652–385 (.629). They play their home games at Cox Pavilion which seats 2,500 and is on the UNLV campus (some games could be played at T-Mobile Arena, which opened in 2016 and whose capacity is 20,000). The state-of-the-art 78,000-square-foot (7,200 m2), two-level facility opened in 2001. The structure is attached to the Thomas & Mack Center on both the concourse level and the practice level. They have appeared in 8 NCAA tournaments, 4 AIAW tournaments, 8 WNIT tournaments including 1 runner-up finish, have won 9 conference championships (4 Regular Season/5 Tournament), have had 9 All-Americans, 14 times, 1 National Freshman of the Year, 5 Conference MVPs and 2 Conference Freshman of the Year winners. Famous Lady Rebels include Pauline Jordan, Linda Fröhlich, Constance Jinks and Sequoia Holmes who have all played in the WNBA.
Women's golf
The Lady Rebels golf team began its inaugural season during the 2001–02 academic year and has won 3 Conference championships, have 3 NCAA Finals appearances, have 7 NCAA regional appearances, 1 NCAA individual appearance, 3 All-Americans, 5 times, 3 conference MVPs, 3 Conference Freshman of the Years, and 2 Conference Coach of the Years. The Rebels' home course is the Par 72 Dragon Ridge Country Club at MacDonald Highlands which opened in 2000.
Women's soccer
The women's soccer team has appeared in 3 NCAA tournaments, has won 2 conference championships, 2 conference tournament championships, has had 3 Conference MVPs and 2 Conference Coach of the Years.
Softball
The Rebel softball team plays at Eller Media Stadium at Jim Rogers Field which seats 770 and is on the UNLV campus. The stadium opened in 2002. They have appeared in 9 NCAA tournaments, have 3 College World Series berths, one conference title, have had 12 All-Americans, 20 times, 1 Olympian, 3 times including 1 Olympic Gold medalist, 3 times, two Conference Coach of the Years, 5 times, 4 Conference MVPs, 5 times, 2 Conference Pitchers of the Year, and 1 Conference Freshman of the Year. Famous former Lady Rebels include Lori Harrigan.
Women's swimming and diving
The women's squad has won 1 conference championship, four conference tournament championships, has had 7 All Americans, 16 times, has had 15 Conference MVPs and 4 Conference Coach of the Years.
Both teams share a training facility, Buchanan Natatorium, as well as coaching staff. Head Coach Jim Reitz retained his position for 36 years, since starting the program, before retiring in 2015.
Women's tennis
The women's squad has made 8 NCAA tournament appearances, has won 2 conference championship, 3 Conference tournament championships, has had 3 All-Americans, 5 times, has had 1 National Rookie of the Year, 8 Conference MVPs, 1 Conference Student Athlete of the Year, 3 Conference Freshman of the Years and 2 Conference Coaches of the Year.
Women's track and field
The Cross County and track and field teams compete at the Myron Partridge Stadium @ Sheila Tarr Smith Field which seats 1,000 and is on the UNLV campus. The stadium opened in 1998. They have had 2 NCAA individual national champions, have won 5 Conference outdoor championships, 1 conference indoor championship, have had 2 Olympians, 3 times, have had 44 All-Americans, 83 times and have had 1 U.S. Olympic Head Coach.
Women's volleyball
The women's volleyball team competes at the COX Pavilion which seats 2,500 and is on the UNLV campus. The state-of-the-art 78,000-square-foot (7,200 m2), two-level facility opened in 2001. The Rebels have made 1 NCAA tournament appearance, have won 1 Conference championship, have had 2 Conference Freshman of the Year and 2 Conference Coaches of the year. The team played from 1978 to 1980, 1984–1985 and was then restarted in 1996. No teams was fielded from 1981 to 1983 and from 1986 to 1995.
Cheer and dance
The UNLV Cheerleaders and the UNLV Rebel Girls are fixtures at football games as well as Runnin' Rebel and Lady Rebel basketball games. The teams perform at a variety of UNLV events, conventions and shows and appear at numerous events throughout the Las Vegas community. The Cheer team has been featured in an ESPN SportsCenter commercial. Both groups appeared together with members of the Star Of Nevada Marching Band during a taping of Live with Regis and Kelly while the show was in Las Vegas.
The cheer group stunt team won the national title in 2010, and the Rebel Girls won the national title for the 2nd time in three years in the Hip Hop-4-year college division. The cheer partner team won the national championships in 2005 and 2006 and the small co-ed team won the title in 2005. In 2008, the Rebel Girls finished 3rd in the nation in the UCA/UDA Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships in the Division IA Hip Hop category.
NCAA team championships
UNLV has won 2 NCAA team national championships.[9]
- Men's (2)
- Basketball (1): 1990
- Golf (1): 1998
- see also:
Equipment/marketing/strength & conditioning and sports medicine
Apparel
In 2008, Nike and UNLV entered into a contract that makes Nike the exclusive product supplier and sponsor of all UNLV athletic teams. UNLV signed two five-year contracts and one three-year deal with the shoemaker to handle its athletic apparel and shoe needs that is valued at $3 million over the course of the agreements. UNLV's three-year deal covers men's basketball for $155,000 per year for a combined value of $465,000. The five-year contracts are for football ($230,000 annually, $1.15 million total) and all other sports ($277,000 and $1.385 million). Previous to the new contract, UNLV used a combination of Nike, Russell Athletic, and Adidas for its shoes and apparel.
Marketing
In 2007, the UNLV Athletics Department and International Sports Properties, Inc. (ISP Sports) agreed to work together with UNLV's multi-media rights and corporate sales and sponsorship development for athletics, special events and entertainment. The partnership will guarantee UNLV Athletics more than $32 million over the next 10 years that will go into its athletics and entertainment venues as well as enhancing the visibility of its sponsors and advertisers. Three elements make up the royalty from ISP to UNLV: annual guaranteed rights fees, signage stipends, and revenue sharing of totals in excess of defined thresholds.
In 2010, the UNLV Athletics Department and Justice Entertainment Group (JEG) agreed to form a relationship to book and market special events hosted in the Thomas & Mack Center, Cox Pavilion and Sam Boyd Stadium. The partnership will help to protect the university's current revenue streams as well as create new ones and bring additional resources to enhance UNLV's special events and athletic events.
Television package
The Mountain West Conference television package reaches a national audience through a combination of telecasts on The Mountain West Sports Network (The Mtn.), CBS College Sports Network (CBSC / formerly CSTV); now CBS Sports Network and Versus (now NBCSN). It has been available to cable subscribers in the MWC footprint since it first aired in 2006 and all three networks are now available nationally on DirecTV (now owned and operated by AT&T), CBSC and Versus (now NBCSN) are available nationally on Dish Network. Additionally, CBS-C can now be seen on AT&T U-verse. 2010–2011 also saw a handful of MWC men's basketball games on CBS.
Olympians
Through the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, 13 UNLV student-athletes had participated in the Olympics. The university has had medal winning alumni in each of the last three Olympiads. A total of 9 countries, including the U.S. have been represented by UNLV athletes. One athlete has been to three Olympics and four have been two-time Olympians.
The total number of medals won by UNLV athletes is 5, including 3 gold (all in women's softball) and 2 bronze (both in men's basketball).
| Last | First | Year | Sport | Event | Medal | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andersson | Jonas | 2008 | Swimming | 100m Breaststroke | Sweden | |
| Andersson | Jonas | 2008 | Swimming | 4 × 100 m Relay (Medley) | Sweden | |
| Augmon | Stacey | 1988 | Basketball |  Bronze | United States | |
| Bartoch | Joe | 2008 | Swimming | 100m Butterfly | Canada | |
| Diaconescu | Ioana | 2000 | Swimming | 4 × 100 m Relay (Freestyle) | Romania | |
| Diaconescu | Ioana | 2000 | Swimming | 4 × 200 m Relay (Freestyle) | Romania | |
| Diaconescu | Ioana | 2000 | Swimming | 4 × 100 m Relay (Medley) | Romania | |
| Dickel | Mark | 2000 | Basketball | New Zealand | ||
| Dickel | Mark | 2004 | Basketball | New Zealand | ||
| Harrigan | Lori | 1996 | Softball |  Gold | United States | |
| Harrigan | Lori | 2000 | Softball | Gold | United States | |
| Harrigan | Lori | 2004 | Softball | Gold | United States | |
| Hortness | Richard | 2008 | Swimming | 50m Freestyle | Canada | |
| Hutchinson | Ayanna | 2000 | Track and Field | 100m | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Hutchinson | Ayanna | 2004 | Track and Field | 100m | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Hutchinson | Ayanna | 2004 | Track and Field | 4 × 100 m relay | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Livingston | Andrew | 2000 | Swimming | 100m Butterfly | Puerto Rico | |
| Livingston | Andrew | 2000 | Swimming | 200m Butterfly | Puerto Rico | |
| Livingston | Andrew | 2004 | Swimming | 200m Butterfly | Puerto Rico | |
| Marion | Shawn | 2004 | Basketball | Bronze | United States | |
| Mintenko | Mike | 2000 | Swimming | 100m Butterfly | Canada | |
| Mintenko | Mike | 2000 | Swimming | 4 × 200 m Relay (Freestyle) | Canada | |
| Mintenko | Mike | 2000 | Swimming | 4 × 100 m Relay (Medley) | Canada | |
| Mintenko | Mike | 2004 | Swimming | Canada | ||
| Perri | Tista | 2000 | Baseball | Italy | ||
| Simon | Jacint | 2000 | Swimming | 4 × 200 m Relay (Freestyle) | Hungary | |
| Tyson | Alicia | 2000 | Track and Field | Trinidad and Tobago |
Notes
References
- ↑ "Screen Color Standards–University Identity". University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 2015-10-23. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
- ↑ "UNLV Rebels Athletic Highlights". UNLV Rebels. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
- ↑ "Fred Dallimore - inducted 2008". Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
- ↑ "UNLV Baseball 2007 media guide" (PDF). UNLV Rebels. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
- 1 2 Carp, Steve (June 15, 2011). "Gonzales confident heading into Open". Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ↑ Youmans, Matt (April 4, 2007). "Ex-Rebels star Scott is Masters long shot". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
- ↑ "UNLV Athletics to Retire Jerseys of Gondrezick, Theus". UNLV Rebels. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
- ↑ "Misty Thomas". Wheelchair Basketball Canada. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
- ↑ "Champions Summary" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
External links
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