UNLV hopes NCAA will change stance toward state

UNLV officials submitted a proposal to the NCAA to host a baseball regional, but the university never had a chance.

The NCAA told UNLV its policy of not allowing its championships to take place in Nevada prohibits the school from hosting. The policy is in place because of legalized sports betting in the state.

“I think it’s important for our program that we have the ability to host just like everybody else,” UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said Wednesday. “We’re part of the (NCAA) membership.”

Conference tournaments can be in Nevada, such as the Mountain West baseball tourney taking place this week at Wilson Stadium. Four conferences played their basketball tournaments in Las Vegas in March.

UNLV could argue for an exception regarding baseball regionals since the NCAA basketball tournament is played at neutral sites. In baseball, teams play their way into being able to host and then submit bids, so each regional and super regional is at a host site.

But Kunzer-Murphy said she was more interested in a complete overturn of the rule and hopes “to create a dialogue” with the NCAA in that regard.

“I’m not looking for an exception,” she said. “I think UNLV deserves to be able to host. We’re a good member institution.”

Whether UNLV would have been granted a bid to host a regional this season is uncertain. The Rebels, 33-21 and regular-season Mountain West co-champions, at least could have made the argument.

Seattle, Corvallis, Ore., and San Luis Obispo, Calif., are expected to serve as hosts in the West, so UNLV might have become the fourth in this region if the policy did not exist.

Sixteen schools will host regionals, which are scheduled for May 30 through June 1, and the NCAA tries to spread sites evenly throughout the country.

For UNLV, the point is moot for this season. The Rebels never had the chance to host no matter how well they played.

The NCAA did not respond to an email from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, but spokeswoman Emily James did explain the organization’s stance in a March email to The New York Times.

“This policy is in place to ensure the integrity of the game, provide consistency in awarding NCAA championships and to address concerns for student-athlete well-being,” she wrote.

It’s not an argument UNLV coach Tim Chambers wants to hear.

“In 2014, there’s gambling everywhere,” Chambers said. “There’s legal gambling everywhere, and there’s illegal gambling everywhere. I think it’s a shame if you deserve to get a one (seed) and you can’t host because you have casinos in your town. I’ve raised two daughters here. It’s a real town. I can’t imagine my children anywhere else.

“If we’re good enough to host a regional, we should be able to host a regional.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.