UNLV Rebels

UNLV Rebels
University University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Conference Mountain West Conference
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (Men's Soccer)
NCAA Division I
Division I FBS (American football)
Athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy
Location Paradise, NV
Varsity teams 7 men and 9 women
Football stadium Sam Boyd Stadium
Basketball arena Thomas & Mack Center (Men's)
Cox Pavilion (Women's)
Baseball stadium Earl Wilson Stadium
Mascot Hey Reb!
Nickname Rebels (basketball only Runnin' Rebels)
Fight song "Win with the Rebels" and "UNLV Go Fight Win!
Colors Scarlet and Gray[1]
         
Website www.unlvrebels.com

The athletic teams representing the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) are called the UNLV Rebels. The Rebels participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Division I FBS for football) and in the Mountain West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The school's colors are Scarlet and Gray.

The Rebels' main rival is the Nevada Wolf Pack, who are also in 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

Main article: UNLV Rebels baseball
Baseball retired numbers
Number Player Years

13 Fred Dallimore [lower-alpha 1] 1974-96
15 Matt Williams[4] 1984-86

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. 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.

National Championships (1): 1990
Conference Championships (13): 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1998 • 2000 • 2007 • 2008

Football

Main article: UNLV Rebels 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 by the university. The stadium originally opened in 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 finally Sam Boyd Stadium in 1994. The stadium closed in 1998 and had a reopening in 1999 after a major facelift 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 DreamSuites were installed in both endzones.

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, 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.

Conference Championships (2): 1984 • 1994

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 six conference championships (Big West: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996; Mountain West: 2000, 2002), 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] 1983–85

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 won its 10th conference championship in the past 11 years. They also have had 20 All-Americans, 11 conference MVPs and 8 conference Coaches of the Year.

Men's Team Conference Championships (9)
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2013
2014
2015

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.

Women's sports

Women's basketball

Women's basketball
retired numbers
No. Player Career

4 Misty Thomas[8] 1982-86
13 Linda Fröhlich 1998-02
50 Pauline Jordan 1987-90

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. 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

Main article: UNLV Rebels 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.

Volleyball

The 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 1978–1980, 1984–85, and was then restarted in 1996. No teams was fielded from 1981–83 and from 1986-1995.

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.

National team championships

As of July 2, 2015, UNLV has 2 NCAA team national championships.[9]

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 MountainWest Sports Network (The Mtn.), CBS College Sports Network (CBSC / formerly CSTV) and VERSUS. The Mtn. has been available to cable subscribers in the MWC footprint since it first aired in 2006-07 and all three networks are now available nationally on DIRECTV and CBSC and VERSUS are available nationally on DISH Network. Additionally, CBS-C can now be seen on AT&T U-verse TV. 2010-2011 will also see 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).

LastFirstYearSportEventMedalCountry
Andersson Jonas 2008 Swimming 100m Breaststroke Sweden
Andersson Jonas 2008 Swimming 4 × 100 m Relay (Medley) Sweden
Augmon Stacey 1988 Basketball 3rd
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 1st
Gold
United States
Harrigan Lori 2000 Softball 1st
Gold
United States
Harrigan Lori 2004 Softball 1st
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 3rd
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

  1. Served as coach for 23 seasons, compiling an overall record of 794–558–2 (.587). Dallimore also averaged a 34.5 wins per season.[3]
  2. 1 2 The number was retired in honour of both players who wore it.[7]

References

  1. "Screen Color StandardsUniversity Identity". University of Nevada, Las Vegas. October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  2. UNLV Rebel Athletic Highlights Archived December 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ""Fred Dallimore - inducted 2008", Southern Nevada Hall Sports of Fame". Sportshalloffame.net. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  4. "UNLV Baseball 2007 media guide" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  5. 1 2 Carp, Steve (15 June 2011). "Gonzales confident heading into Open". Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  6. Youmans, Matt (2007-04-04). "Ex-Rebels star Scott is Masters long shot". Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  7. ""UNLV Athletics to Retire Jerseys of Gondrezick, Theus" at UNLV website". Unlvrebels.com. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  8. "Misty Thomas on Wheel Chair Basketball Canada website". Wheelchairbasketball.ca. 1964-07-01. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  9. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/champs_records_book/Overall.pdf

External links

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