The UNLV Rebels are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for college football) as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The school's colors are scarlet and gray.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was initially known as Nevada Southern when it was formed as a southern extension of the University of Nevada in 1958, and did not have a nickname or mascot for its athletic teams until 1968. Some of the Rebels teams use variations of the team name for their individual sports, such as the Runnin' Rebels for men's basketball and the Hustlin' Rebels for the baseball team.
The 1990 Runnin' Rebels basketball team defeated Duke University 103–73, to win the NCAA National Championship, UNLV's first Division I National Championship in one of the three major sports. The UNLV golf team won the school's second team National Championship in 1998. The Rebels also have won six individual national championships: two men's golf, two men's tennis, and two women's track and field.
Sports sponsored Baseball Basketball Basketball Cross country Football Golf Golf Soccer Soccer Softball Swimming and diving Swimming and diving Tennis Tennis Track and field† Track and field† Volleyball
Baseball
Baseball retired numbersNumberPlayerYears13Fred Dallimore1974–199615Matt Williams1984–1986
The Hustlin' Rebels are the baseball team at UNLV and play their games at Earl E. Wilson Stadium at Roger Barnson Field which seats 3,000 and is on the UNLV campus. The stadium opened in 1994. In 1997, the infield playing surface was replaced and the outfield fences was replaced with a new fence that stands 12 ft high. In 2007 the stadium received a new playing surface. In 2010, the infield grass was replaced, new black padding was installed behind the backstop, a fresh halo was installed around the batting circle and the facility received a fresh coat of red paint. Future plans call for a new clubhouse, a new synthetic outfield surface, an overhang for the bleachers, a two-story press box, new batting cages and a video scoreboard to replace the scoreboard which was installed in 2009.
Famous Hustlin' Rebels include Marty Cordova, Cecil Fielder, Toby Hall, Ryan Ludwick, Todd Stottlemyre and Matt Williams.
Basketball Men's basketball
The most decorated team at UNLV is the Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team, which plays in the Jerry Tarkanian Court at the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus, which seats 18,776 for basketball. (They may also play some games at T-Mobile Arena, which opened in 2016 and seats 20,000 for basketball.) The Thomas & Mack Center opened in 1983 and received a major interior and exterior renovation prior to the start of the 1999–2000 season. In 2005, the court was named in honor of former head coach Jerry "Tark the Shark" Tarkanian, who coached UNLV from 1973–92 and had a record of 509–105 (.829) during that run. 2008 saw the installation of all new visual equipment, including a four-sided center-hung LED widescreen scoreboard.
NCAA executive director Walter Byers famously disliked Tarkanian, and said "Tark’s black players play a fast city-lot basketball without much style. Grab ball and run like hell, not lots of passing to set up the shots.” Byers described UNLV’s style as “ghetto run-and-shoot basketball” with little concern for defense.
In 2008, ESPN.com released ESPN's Prestige Rankings, a method of ranking the best Division I men's college basketball programs since the 1984–85 season. Of the 300 teams ranked, the Runnin' Rebels came in at #8. In a list compiled by Forbes in 2010, UNLV earned mention among the nation's most valuable college basketball teams. The Rebels checked in at No. 20, with a listed team value of $12.9 million and a profit of $8.3 million this year. On the 2009 list, UNLV was No. 16. UNLV is one of two programs from outside of the six power conferences listed. UNLV also currently holds the NCAA record for most consecutive games with a made three-pointer. The Runnin' Rebels have made at least one three-point goal in each game since the rule was adopted universally for the 1986-87 season. The last time UNLV failed to make a three-pointer was January 25, 1986 against Long Beach State.
UNLV has also seen great success in the NCAA Tournament with .673 winning percentage in the tournament including four Final Four appearances and a national title in 1990 in a 103–73 runaway over Duke – the highest margin of victory in NCAA tournament championship game history. The Runnin' Rebels have the 7th-highest NCAA tournament winning percentage with a min. of 20 tournament games played. They also saw success at the NCAA Small College division having appeared in 4 NCAA Tournament appearances including national runner-up in 1968.
They have won 25 conference championships (11 regular season/14 tournament). including three Mountain West Conference Tournament championships, the most in the conference. The Runnin' Rebels have made 17 NCAA Division 1 Tournament appearances including 4 Final Four appearances. The 1991 Runnin' Rebels had been the last team to enter the NCAA Tournament unbeaten before Wichita State did it in 2014. The Runnin' Rebels have also appeared in three pre-season NIT tournaments, including two Final Fours and one pre-season NIT championship, and ten NIT tournaments, including one Final Four appearance.
Famous Runnin' Rebels include Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Marcus Banks, Larry Johnson, Shawn Marion and Reggie Theus. The Runnin' Rebels have had three Olympians, four times including two Olympic bronze medalists, 18 All-Americans, 26 times, one John Wooden Award winner, and 12 NBA first round draft picks.
In 2010, UNLV announced the construction of the Mendenhall Center which will be the new practice home for the Runnin' Rebels. The Mendenhall Center broke ground in October 2010, will be attached to the south side of the COX Pavilion, and will have a total of of space on three levels. Included will be two basketball courts, an academic area and film room, locker rooms, athletic training, strength and conditioning, and equipment areas. The facility will be complete in the Spring of 2011. The Lady Rebels will continue to practice on the lower level of the Cox Pavilion, which has its own women's locker facilities, player lounges and practice courts for women's basketball and volleyball.
Women's basketball
Women's basketballretired numbersNo.PlayerCareer4Misty Thomas1982–198613Linda Fröhlich1998–200250Pauline Jordan1987–1990
The Lady Rebels started play during the 1974–75 season and have an overall record of 652–385 (.629). They play their home games at Cox Pavilion which seats 2,500 and is on the UNLV campus (some games could be played at T-Mobile Arena, which opened in 2016 and whose capacity is 20,000). The state-of-the-art , two-level facility opened in 2001. The structure is attached to the Thomas & Mack Center on both the concourse level and the practice level. They have appeared in eight NCAA tournaments, four AIAW tournaments, eight WNIT tournaments including one runner-up finish, have won nine conference championships (four regular season/five tournaments), have had nine All-Americans, 14 times, one National Freshman of the Year, five Conference MVPs and two Conference Freshman of the Year winners. Famous Lady Rebels include Pauline Jordan, Linda Fröhlich, Constance Jinks, and Sequoia Holmes who have all played in the WNBA.
Football
The UNLV Rebels football team plays at Allegiant Stadium, an off-campus stadium that seats 65,000 for football and is owned by Clark County and operated by the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League, who also play at the stadium. Before Allegiant Stadium the Rebels played at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada from 1971 until 2019. Allegiant Stadium opened in 2020 after years of UNLV attempting to build a new stadium to replace Sam Boyd Stadium.
The Rebels practice on campus at the largest football practice facility in the country, the Fertitta Football Complex.
The Rebels were once a powerhouse in Division II before jumping to Division I-A (now Division I FBS) and have seen some trouble since their promotion. Although the Rebels have faced some adversity, they are one of the only teams to be undefeated in bowl games, winning the California Bowl in 1984 (subsequently forfeited due to ineligible players) and the Las Vegas Bowl twice, in 1994 and 2000. The Rebels have only won two conference championships in their history, both in the Big West Conference.
UNLV's football rivals include the University of Nevada, Reno, with whom UNLV plays in the annual "Battle for Nevada" in which the winner is awarded the Fremont Cannon; Hawaii (9th island pineapple trophy); and BYU, because of the large Mormon population in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
The team has had nine All-Americans, 13 times, nine Conference MVPs, one Conference Student Athlete of the Year, three Conference Coaches of the Year, four Conference Freshman of the Year and two Freshman All-Americans. Famous players include Randall Cunningham, Suge Knight, Kenny Mayne, Keenan McCardell, Adam Seward and Ickey Woods. In July 2010, John Robinson became the first UNLV player or head coach enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Golf Men's golf The Rebels men's golf team is a perennial powerhouse in the NCAA, routinely making the top 25 every season. The Rebels home course is the par-72 Southern Highlands Golf Club which is rated as one of the top private clubs in the country. The course opened in 2000.
The golf team has won one team national title (1998) and has produced two individual national champions (Warren Schutte in 1991 and Ryan Moore in 2004), as well as ten conference championships (Big West: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996; Mountain West: 2000, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2026), 21 consecutive NCAA berths, four NCAA West Regional titles, six conference individual titles, 21 All-Americans (39 times), three NCAA Regional medalists, two National Coach of the Year awards, one Ben Hogan Award winner, one Jack Nicklaus Award winner, one Haskins Award winner, one Golfstat Award winner, one National Freshman of the Year, 10 Conference MVPs and two Conference Freshman of the Year winners. The golf program has turned out numerous PGA Tour pros, including Ryan Moore, Chad Campbell, Chris Riley, Adam Scott, Charley Hoffman, Derek Ernst, Bill Lunde, Skip Kendall, and Andres Gonzales.
Women's golf The Lady Rebels golf team began its inaugural season during the 2001–02 academic year and has won 3 Conference championships, have three NCAA Finals appearances, have seven NCAA regional appearances, one NCAA individual appearance, three All-Americans, five times, three conference MVPs, three Conference Freshman of the Years, and two Conference Coach of the Years. The Rebels' home course is the par-72 Dragon Ridge Country Club at MacDonald Highlands which opened in 2000.
Soccer Men's soccer
Men's soccer retired numbersNo.Player(s)Career10David Cohen10Rob Ryerson1983–1985
The men's and women's soccer teams play at Robert J. Miller Soccer Building and Peter F. Johann Memorial Soccer Field, respectively, which seats 2,500 and is located on the UNLV campus. The Memorial Soccer Field opened in 1983 and the Soccer Building opened in 1990. In 2006, the entire field was replaced. The men's soccer team competes in the Western Athletic Conference, while the women compete in the Mountain West.