Thursday, November 07, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

RECOGNIZED REBEL: Knight makes cut for Hall

UNLV men's golf coach receives national honor

By JIM FOSSUM
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Dwaine Knight became the first coach in UNLV's 45-year history to be elected to a national sports hall of fame Wednesday with the announcement he will be inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame.

Knight, two-time winner of the association's national Coach of the Year award, joined UNLV in the fall of 1987 and rapidly nurtured the men's program from near-anonymity into a perennial national power.

"It's been quite a journey," said Knight, who has led the Rebels to the NCAA Finals in 13 of his 15 seasons, including a national championship in 1998. "I'm very, very humbled, very honored to be selected by my peers to join a lot of people who have done so much for the game. I'm not sure I belong."

Knight, who has been named Coach of the Year four times at the conference level and three times within his district, and Arizona's Rick LaRose will be the 70th and 71st inductees when they are enshrined Jan. 22 in Orlando, Fla.

"This whole thing is a reflection of the support from the people of Las Vegas," Knight said. "It's a group effort. No one person does it."

The highlights in Knight's 25-year coaching career are many, including caddying for former player Warren Schutte in a pairing with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer at the 1993 Masters to visiting President Clinton in the White House following his NCAA title season.

"I don't know where to start," Knight said when asked to summarize his career.

Following five seasons on the PGA Tour in the 1970s, Knight replaced fellow Hall of Fame coach Dick McGuire as head coach at his alma mater, New Mexico, in 1978. He spent 10 seasons with the Lobos, leading them to eight NCAA Tournament appearances.

Knight transformed UNLV from a seventh-place team in the Big West Conference in 1988 to an NCAA finalist in his second season. The Rebels made an unprecedented 12 straight NCAA Finals appearances and twice were ranked No. 1 in the nation. UNLV has won six conference championships, three NCAA West Regionals and has placed in the top 15 at the NCAA Finals nine times under Knight.

Knight, 55, has coached 30 All-Americans, including four first-team players (Schutte, Edward Fryatt, Chris Riley and Jeremy Anderson), an NCAA individual champion (Schutte), an NCAA Freshman of the Year (Riley), a Walker Cup participant (Riley) and three Palmer Cup representatives (Anderson, Ted Oh and Scott Lander).

Fourteen former Rebels coached by Knight play on various professional tours throughout the world, including three on the PGA Tour (Fryatt, Riley and Chad Campbell).

"I want to thank all the players," said Knight, Golfweek's national Coach of the Year in 1998, a year after he captained the United States to victory over Great Britain in the inaugural Palmer Cup. "I never hit a shot. They're the ones who put in all the hard work. It's a tribute to them where the program is today."

Knight will join UNR athletic director Chris Ault as the only college coaches from Nevada to be enshrined in a national sports hall of fame. Ault was named to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame earlier this year.