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Albrecht’s devotion evident on UNLV campus

This week’s spring-like temperatures have made for great walking weather, and there are few better places to stroll than the UNLV campus.

The vibe is studious but casual, and the trees in Alumni Grove are beginning to bud. The park benches and Alumni Amphitheater are popular gathering places, and it’s there you’ll feel the real spirit of the university.

Fred Albrecht planned it that way.

Albrecht, the longtime university coach, teacher and administrator, died recently at 71. He was known to friends and faculty as “Mr. UNLV.” As a founder of the school’s alumni association and its tireless promoter, he worked to raise funds to create that park setting on a young campus known better as a commuter school. The amphitheater was another project Albrecht helped ramrod into existence.

Then there’s the sparkling Richard Tam Alumni Center. Its doors are open thanks in great part to Albrecht’s effort. In short, his friend Jim Ratigan reflects, Albrecht believed that UNLV alumni could play a role in growing pride in the institution and shaping the future of the university itself.

He was the kind of fiercely loyal fellow that upon first meeting seems a little corny, but over the years those who knew him came to appreciate the value of his dedication to the alumni community.

You’ve heard the expression about “being true to your school.” Albrecht was all that and then some, former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller says.

“More than that, he was an incredible person and a terrific father,” Miller says. “UNLV was blessed to have Fred Albrecht as its constant advocate.”

In a 38-year career, Albrecht volunteered for every job on campus but the wearing of the “Hey, Reb” costume. (He was a driving force behind the “Hey, Reb” and Jerry Tarkanian statues.) Albrecht coached basketball and tennis, taught classes, was the interim athletic director twice and served seven presidents. (Metro’s Bomb Squad offers safer duty.) He retired in 2007 and kept rooting for the Rebels.

“Most everything that Fred thought of was in terms of helping the students, says Ratigan, UNLV’s senior associate vice president for alumni relations. “Rather than putting up plaques, he’d always say, ‘Why don’t we put something out there that people can use?’ He wasn’t into a lot of plaques. He was into making that university a better place.”

The grove, the park, the benches, the amphitheater.

“Fred put all that there,” Ratigan says. “Every time I see the students holding an event on the concrete platform out there, I think of Fred. You can see Fred’s impact on the university just by walking around on the campus. I will forever be reminded of Fred when I walk around UNLV.”

A celebration of Albrecht’s life is scheduled at 11 a.m. Saturday at the university’s student union.

To the very end Fred Albrecht was old school, and true to it.

* ON THE BOULEVARD: Eric Hilton is due to be honored by the city for his many contributions to the community. … With a $2 million gift to the city about to be announced, it appears the Luminous Park project next to the Smith Center will soon move forward. … Lepre-Con 2016, with a goal of being the world’s largest gathering of leprechauns, is set for 8 a.m. Saturday at Town Square. You can sign up online or prior to the fun walk and race, which raises funds to benefit the St. Baldrick’s Foundation for childhood cancer treatment and research. Information: lepre-con.stbaldricks.org. The annual St. Baldrick’s head-shave fundraiser is set for March 5 at McMullan’s Irish Pub and other locations across the valley. … Don’t look now, but dozens of volunteers representing the Clinton and Sanders presidential campaigns are arriving in Southern Nevada in the run-up to the state’s Feb. 20 Democratic caucus.

— John L. Smith’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Contact him at 702-383-0295, or jsmith@reviewjournal.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith

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