UNLV to rename Thomas & Mack Center court to honor Jerry, Lois Tarkanian
The Thomas & Mack Center basketball court will be renamed the Jerry and Lois Tarkanian court during a ceremony before the Rebels’ season opener Nov. 4 against UT Martin.
The court was named in 2005 after Jerry Tarkanian, who coached UNLV from 1973 to 1992 and won the 1990 national championship. He died in 2015.
Lois Tarkanian was a lifelong educator and politician. She died in 2024.
“This rededication is about paying respect and honoring the first family of UNLV basketball,” athletic director Erick Harper said in a statement. “Coach Tarkanian’s name is synonymous with the glory days of the Runnin’ Rebels, while Lois was the heart of their partnership and also a giant in our community.”
“Our family is deeply honored and humbled that UNLV has chosen to rename the basketball court as the Jerry and Lois Tarkanian court,” the Tarkanian family said in a statement.
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