LETTERS
Stadium situation hurts UNLV football program
To the sports editor:
Mark Anderson's well-written article on the struggles of UNLV football ("Is there any solution for UNLV football?", Aug. 3) hit a resounding note with me. I've been a die-hard UNLV fan for almost 40 years, but in recent years I've had to endure my grown son's allegiance shift to UNR football.
One of the problems UNLV football faces is the poor location of Sam Boyd Stadium. Mayor Oscar Goodman really missed the mark by building the World Market Center for furniture "fans" instead of building a world-class football stadium (or multi-use facility) downtown? Had a new stadium been built downtown, the fans would tailgate, restaurants and taverns would thrive on game days, and the whole area would be rejuvenated.
And the atmosphere would be a positive selling point with UNLV football recruits.
JOHN COX
Failure to recruit locally hampers Rebels football
To the sports editor:
Any good football program must start by keeping the best players at home. This is something that UNLV has never seemed to grasp.
Why would folks who have watched their kids, their neighbors' kids and other star football players around Las Vegas be interested in backing a football program that treats all of them as if they have the plague? I don't remember one coach from UNLV coming to our campus at Western High School in the three years that I played there in the 1980s.
Does anyone remember Tony Logan going to UNR, Tom Dunn going to Nebraska, Blake Ezor going to Michigan State and, more recently, Steven Jackson going to Oregon State?
UNLV could change the whole culture of its program if it awarded scholarships to the best athletes in its home city on a regular basis.
IKE L. MADDOX
SAN ANTONIO
UNLV needs to attract some blue-chip players
To the sports editor:
There is an answer to the situation that UNLV football faces.
Coach Mike Sanford and his staff have done a fine job; they have a team that's ready to go to the next level. But they need to build on what they have with blue-chip players -- not many but a few, and at key positions such as quarterback, running back and in the defensive backfield.
Where do you get these players? Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, to name a few states.
There are enough quality football players in these states to fill 100 college programs. Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? Yes.
Not every football player can go to Southern California, Florida, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas and Oklahoma.
ROBIN LIOTTA
GRAHAM, N.C.
Switch to Clayton at QB adds to ongoing trouble
To the sports editor:
UNLV's recent switch at quarterback is part of the ongoing problem with the football program.
Travis Dixon was quarterback for nine games last season. He did a credible job of making some games closer than the experts figured.
Now, Dixon has been switched from quarterback to defense by coach Mike Sanford.
Omar Clayton, however, is given the quarterbacking job based on his high marks in "preseason" -- compared to nine "real" games.
Good grief!
RAY LAWRENCE
The Review-Journal welcomes letters from its readers. Letters should be 150 words or less and must include the author's name and phone number. Send letters to: Letters to the Sports Editor, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070. Letters also can be e-mailed to: jhawk@reviewjournal.com.
