This is how UNLV regained bowl eligibility

UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy called it “a really tough day” when the school announced April 10 the football team would not be eligible to play in a bowl because of a low Academic Progress Rate score.

But she also knew the fight wasn’t completely over, even if it appeared at the time the Rebels had little shot of regaining eligibility.

“We never gave up, and I’m really proud of that,” Kunzer-Murphy said.

UNLV announced two weeks ago it had regained bowl eligibility by improving its APR by five points to the NCAA minimum four-year average of 930.

UNLV found extra points in four areas — one point for a player in 2009-10 incorrectly listed as ineligible, one point for two transfers in 2010-11, one point for a delayed graduation in 2011-12, and three points for the number of players in 2012-13 considered to be in what the NCAA terms “good academic standing.”

One key moment occurred about two months ago at an NCAA conference in San Diego. UNLV’s academic staff attended, and discovered it applied the transfer rule more strictly than necessary.

Because the NCAA requires at least a 2.6 GPA for transfers not to count against an institution, UNLV appeared to not receive any points for two players — privacy laws prevent the school from identifying the athletes — who left with scores just below that number. But the academic staff discovered in talking with the NCAA some leeway is given based on the strength of the classes.

“Some of the classes the athletes were taking … were very strong, good academic classes and weren’t fillers,” Kunzer-Murphy said. “We took that additional information and decided to go back and look at some of the transfers.”

UNLV similarly discovered gray area regarding what it constitutes as “good academic standing.” Athletes with less than a 2.0 GPA aren’t eligible by UNLV rules to play, but if they are still allowed to be students, they don’t count against the APR. UNLV had cost itself points it didn’t need to.

Finding those additional points brought the postseason back into play for the Rebels, who hope to make back-to-back bowls for the first time in school history.

But they also paid the price for the NCAA’s initial ruling by losing starting offensive guard Cameron Jefferson to Arkansas and possible starting running back Adonis Smith to Arizona. Both players were allowed to transfer and play right away because they were seniors at an institution that at the time was barred from the postseason.

Those players aren’t coming back.

“That was their choice, and they made it,” Kunzer-Murphy said. “I’m really proud of the guys who stayed. We want people who want to be here.”

The Rebels also probably wouldn’t have scheduled a 13th game, Sept. 20 at Houston. By adding the Cougars, UNLV now must win seven games instead of six to become bowl eligible.

Kunzer-Murphy said she and coach Bobby Hauck believe it’s still a good trip because the Rebels have signed players such as star wide receiver Devante Davis from Houston. ESPN wanted the matchup, and with a bowl appearance seemingly out of the picture, Kunzer-Murphy and Hauck agreed to the game.

“We worked on this together, and it’s one of those things,” Kunzer-Murphy said.

Even with meeting the APR minimum, Kunzer-Murphy and the athletic department knows the margin for error going forward is slim.

They know they must continue to work on keeping the APR up, and Kunzer-Murphy knows UNLV still doesn’t have much margin for error going forward to remain bowl eligible.

“It’s not a finished process,” she said. “It’s part of an ongoing process of what we need to do.”

■ NOTES — The Rebels added defensive end Brandon Willis (6 feet 1 inch, 275 pounds), a transfer from UCLA. As a fifth-year senior who has graduated, he is eligible to play this season. He switched to the offensive line last season, starting one game. Willis was ranked the nation’s sixth-best defensive tackle in 2010 by Rivals.com. … A free youth clinic takes place at Rebel Park on Aug. 5 from 9 a.m. to noon. Registration opens Monday at lvbowl.com for the 500 available spots for kids age 6 to 14, though not for incoming high school freshmen.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.