Raiders $1M donation to UNLV viewed as transformational

The Raiders gave UNLV athletics a million reasons to smile Tuesday.

The Silver and Black donated $1 million to show their support of the university’s football program. The school showed their appreciation by naming a room at the Fertitta Football Complex the Al Davis Team Room, in honor of the late Raiders’ owner.

“You can’t say it’s not about the money, it is an extremely generous gift,” UNLV President Keith Whitfield said. “More than anything else it shows the Raiders commitment to the community. We’re part of the community. UNLV is your university. It’s the community’s university. This is just another way that the Raiders are connecting with the community.”

Raiders owner Mark Davis noted UNLV was one of the first places he visited when the organization began researching the area for relocation. The two teams are now “roommates,” as Davis called it, at Allegiant Stadium,

And since the on-campus nearly $35 million Fertitta Football Complex came to fruition, the Raiders’ owner has kept his eye on the facility.

“When the Fertittas built this facility we were intrigued and we wanted to be part of it as well,” Davis said. “We finally settled on naming the team room after my father, because I felt that having the whole team involved instead of one department or another was the way to go.”

UNLV Athletic Director Erick Harper didn’t identify specific initiatives where the $1 million would be spent, but he said the money would be used to “enhance the student-athlete experience in ways that are most important to them.”

With Davis’ father’s name added above UNLV in the room and on signs outside of the doors, Davis hopes some of his dad’s mottoes will ring true with the student-athletes that will utilize the team meeting space.

“What I want this to stand for, what I want the people, the young men and women that come in this room to understand that my father had a lot of slogans, but some of them were pride and poise,” Davis said. “I want them to understand that they take pride in the organization that they represent and that is UNLV. But also that’s on and off the field. Poise, when things aren’t going great you stick to it and make it happen.

“Hopefully it will make a difference in these people’s lives and the last thing that he would say is the greatness of the Raiders is in its future, and today I want to say that the greatness of UNLV is in its future, on and off the field.”

UNLV coach Barry Odom said he grew up a fan of the Raiders, so having a strong relationship between the two sides is special to him on a personal level. The opportunity the gift will present him and his team is something he’s looking forward to as well.

“The impact this gift can have on our student-athletes can be looked at and viewed in my scope as transformational on changing the lives in a positive way of young men,” Odom said. “To really establish something that we’re all proud of. In turn, how it works together with the city connection, the Raiders, us and together we’ll make Vegas a better spot.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.