MWC to drop men’s swimming; Rebels will join Mountain Pacific
The Mountain West Conference is dropping men's swimming, but UNLV's nationally ranked program will continue on as a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation beginning in the 2011-12 academic year.
The conference will also include soon-to-be former Mountain West schools Air Force, Brigham Young and Wyoming as well as current members Cal State Bakersfield, Pacific and Seattle.
"The bottom line is the Mountain West prematurely announced discontinuing men's swimming as a sport," UNLV swimming coach Jim Reitz said Monday. "It made it sound like the programs were in danger, when, in fact, none of the programs were in danger. We're enjoying our best success."
The 16th-ranked Rebels also inquired about joining the Big 12 Conference, which has only three members who compete in men's swimming, but that plan didn't work out.
UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood said he would have found a home for the program somewhere rather than simply letting it fold.
"That's not an option," Livengood said. "(Reitz has) done a wonderful job with those athletes."
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.
