UNLV has created the Rebel Rewards Program for season-ticker holders. Rewards are based on how many times tickets are scanned at each sport’s events.
UNLV Football
It will receive $2 million in product in each year of the three-year deal, with the ability to purchase an additional $1 million annually.
The university is negotiating for a new shoe and apparel contract to replace the one with Nike that expires May 31. Nike had an exclusive negotiating window that ended April 1.
All 17 UNLV teams achieved an Academic Progress Rate multiyear score of greater than 950, well above the 930 required by the NCAA to be eligible for the postseason.
The gap between the Power Five and Group of Five conferences continues to grow. It leaves schools such as UNLV in a difficult spot.
Sexual harassment allegations triggered an investigation of Eric Toliver, then-compliance director for UNLV’s athletic department, by an outside law firm earlier this year. Toliver quit Feb. 9 and hasn’t been heard from since.
The Boyd Gaming Corp. has pledged $5 million to UNLV’s athletic department over a multiyear period. It is the largest corporate gift ever for UNLV athletics.
UNLV athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois saw a lot of positives in her first year, with five conference championships coming from Olympic sports. But she knows most of the focus is on football and men’s basketball.
Seven UNLV sports broke or tied their previous Academic Progress Rate highs, according to data released by the NCAA on Wednesday.
UNLV hired Eric Nepomuceno to be in charge of compliance for the athletic department. Athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois also has restructured the compliance office, so Nepomuceno will report to her as well as the president’s office.
UNLV could have had its logo redesigned by Nike for free, according to the school’s apparel contract with the world-famous shoe company, but opted to pay almost $50,000 to use the Denver firm Adrenalin.
Through many years and many UNLV athletic directors, the athletic department had the luxury of knowing it could be bailed out by the university at the end of the fiscal year. Soon, that no longer will be the case.
Asking “what if” can be tantalizing and maddening. Las Vegas sports fans know the impact of that question.
With no guaranteed money game on UNLV’s 2016 football schedule and men’s basketball ticket sales down 5 percent from last year at this time, the school is projected to have a budget deficit of $1.5 million to $3 million in 2016-17.