Hall of Famer Randall Cunningham to be honored at UNLV game

HONOLULU — Former UNLV quarterback and punter Randall Cunningham will be honored by the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday during the Rebels’ 2:30 p.m. game against Colorado State at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Cunningham, 53, who will be inducted into the hall Dec. 6 in a ceremony at New York City’s historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel, will be recognized on the field between the first and second quarters. As part of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural class in 1951, each inductee returns to his alma mater to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will be on permanent display at the school.

Cunningham, the Silverado High School football coach and a Las Vegas pastor, played at UNLV from 1982 to 1984 and remains the Rebels’ record holder for career passing yards (8,020) and touchdown passes (59). He also holds the school’s career mark for punting with an average of 45.6 yards.

Cunningham led the Rebels to the 1984 Pacific Coast Athletic Association championship and California Bowl victory over Toledo. His No. 12 jersey was retired at halftime of the Southern Methodist game that season.

He earned first-team All-America honors by the American Football Coaches Association in 1983 and second-team honors by The Associated Press in 1983 and 1984 before being selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Cunningham is the second person with UNLV ties to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. John Robinson, who coached the Rebels from 1999 to 2004, was inducted in 2009.

RANDALL ON RAIDERS

Cunningham told Las Vegas reporters in September he was happy about the possibility of the 65,000-seat domed stadium being built in Las Vegas and that he hopes to preach to some of the Raiders players if the team relocates to Las Vegas.

“Las Vegas needs something to grab a hold onto, and I think if it’s a professional football team, I think we would grab a hold onto them,” Cunningham said. “It’ll create jobs. It’ll create an atmosphere of professionalism. I don’t think the (players) are going to come here and get in trouble and things like that. I think what it’s going to do is it’s going to build the community.

“It’ll give me an opportunity to be a pastor to some of the guys on the Raiders, and I would love to do that.”

BIG KAHUNA ON CAMPUS

Hawaii quarterback Dru Brown has made only two career starts, but he’s quickly gaining fans after guiding the team to wins over UNR and San Jose State while completing 76.5 percent of his passes with no interceptions. Brown, who transferred to Hawaii in June from the College of San Mateo (California), already has inspired a T-shirt that was on sale Saturday at Aloha Stadium bearing the slogan “What can Brown do for U?”

NO ROAD WARRIORS

UNLV entered Saturday’s game at Hawaii mired in a six-game road losing streak, including losses this season at UCLA, Central Michigan and San Diego State, and had lost 15 of its past 16 away from home. The Rebels won at UNR on Oct. 3, 2015.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33.