Pair entering local Hall praise others for honor

Mike Pritchard was a good football player as a junior at Rancho in 1985 when Clark County had only 10 high schools. He never dreamed of a college career, let alone a nine-season run in the NFL.

About 15 years before Pritchard caught his first pass for Rancho, Tina Kunzer-Murphy's athletic opportunities were limited to cheerleading and dancing as a student at Valley when it was one of the newest high schools in town.

The native Las Vegans took divergent paths to gain entrance tonight into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.

But both of them credit others for their accomplishments.

"I'm only going in because of all the people around me," said Kunzer-Murphy, executive director of the Las Vegas Bowl since 2000.

Pritchard shares the feeling.

They are joined in the 2007 class by veteran broadcaster Bob Blum, the Boyd family and the 1983 Las Vegas Stars Triple-A baseball team, the precursor to the Las Vegas 51s. The Hall's 11th class will be honored at 7:30 tonight at the Orleans Arena.

Pritchard, now 37, was a wide receiver for the University of Colorado and its most valuable player when the Buffaloes won the 1990 national championship. He was a first-round draft choice by the Atlanta Falcons and played for three NFL teams.

He remains involved in sports as an analyst for UNLV and Las Vegas Gladiators football broadcasts.

Pritchard doubts he would have played major college football were it not for his coach at Rancho, Lanny Littlefield.

"He told me when I was a junior and only weighed 170 pounds that if I worked hard on the field and in the classroom that I could go to a major (college) program," said Pritchard, whose father, Eddie, will present him at tonight's induction ceremony. "(Littlefield) made me aware of the opportunities."

As a young athlete, Kunzer-Murphy wasn't presented with interscholastic athletic opportunities until Title IX -- the Equal Opportunity in Education Act -- was instituted in 1972 to provide gender equity in public school activities. That was two years after her high school graduation.

After high school, Kunzer-Murphy competed in swimming at Southern Utah State College, now known as Southern Utah University. After transferring to UNLV, she played volleyball and basketball before concentrating on tennis.

Kunzer-Murphy became the Rebels women's tennis coach in the late 1970s and moved to athletics administration at the school after it dropped the women's tennis program. She became an assistant athletics director at UNLV in 1983 and, four years later, moved to a similar position at Pacific.

She returned to Las Vegas to work for the city's minor league baseball and hockey teams. She began managing major championship events for the Western Athletic Conference in 1996, then three years later was hired by ESPN to run the Las Vegas Bowl.

"I like doing things behind the scenes so (tonight) will be very uncomfortable for me and very humbling," said the 56-year-old Kunzer-Murphy, who until last year was the only woman running one of 32 postseason football bowl games.

Among her accomplishments at UNLV were starting the Women's Sports Foundation and helping to build the school's softball stadium. She credits former Rebels athletics director Brad Rothermel for giving her the opportunity to have a career in sports.

"I was a mediocre athlete," she said. "But as a student-athlete, coach and administrator I always go back to the fundamentals of how student-athletes should be treated."

Kunzer-Murphy is the third woman in the 47-member Hall and said she is proud to join two former Rebels athletes she helped mentor: Lori Harrigan, a two-time Olympic gold medal softball player, and the late Sheila Tarr-Smith, the school's first NCAA national champion, as a track heptathlete.

"To receive the same honor as those two great, great athletes makes this even more special."

Kunzer-Murphy will be introduced by Joyce Aschenbrenner, a former UNLV sports information director who now serves as vice president of the V Foundation, an organization created by the late Jim Valvano to help find a cure for cancer.

CLASS OF 2007

BOB BLUM: The 86-year-old native of South Bend, Ind., has broadcast more than 3,000 sports events. Upon arriving in Las Vegas in 1973, he became the "voice of the Rebels," broadcasting UNLV football, basketball and baseball games and is the current radio play-by-play voice for Lady Rebels basketball.

BOYD FAMILY: The Boyd family is being honored for its ongoing contributions to amateur and professional sports in Southern Nevada. One of its major projects was a $1.5 million contribution to improve what is now Sam Boyd Stadium.

TINA KUNZER-MURPHY: The former UNLV athlete, coach and administrator has been a pioneer for women in sports management in Southern Nevada. Since 2000, she has served as executive director of the Las Vegas Bowl.

MIKE PRITCHARD: The 1987 graduate of Rancho High School attended the University of Colorado and played nine seasons in the NFL. He was a first-round draft pick after being selected the most valuable player on Colorado's national championship football team in 1990.

1983 LAS VEGAS STARS: The city's first-year team in the Pacific Coast League began play on April 10, 1983. The Stars, who after a major league affiliation change became the 51s, were led by league Most Valuable Player Kevin McReynolds. The team finished with an 83-60 record, which was the franchise's best for 19 seasons.