UNLV Rebels AD Erick Harper: "The Four Letters U-N-L-V Are As Strong As Ever"

UNLV Rebels athletics are doing as well as they have ever done. The football team is set to play in 2025 Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl in Texas on Tuesday, December 23 coming off a third consecutive Mountain West Championship Game appearance. Both basketball teams have high-end coaches and high expectations, and they are having plenty of success in other sports as well. Much of that success can be attributed to UNLV's director of athletics Erick Harper. He spoke to UNLV's official website about the brand they are building at the school.

UNLV Rebels Director Of Athletics Erick Harper On The UNLV Brand And The City Of Las Vegas

"The four letters — UNLV — are as strong as ever," Harper said. "And honestly, we have the early Tark [Jerry Tarkanian] days to thank for that. It’s still the main reason why UNLV is a brand that everybody knows and understands. Now, it’s been hotter in the last few years because of [our resurgence in] football and because of Allegiant Stadium. But those four letters mean a lot to Rebel followers.

One of the very neat things about UNLV are those last two letters: Las Vegas. Obviously, we have 40-million-plus tourists a year coming through here, but in general, there are always a lot of eyeballs on this city. And let’s face it, most people want to go where there’s energy, vibrancy and passion, and we have that here.

When you’re at a UNLV soccer or baseball game and you can look out and see the Sphere and see the High Roller — or from the Thomas & Mack Center, you can look out and see Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Allegiant Stadium — these backdrops are as impressive as any college campus can offer in the entire country.

Plus, this is a pretty doggone good place to live."

Harper On The Rebels Facilities

"No doubt. Everybody’s paying attention now. But the job is attractive not just because we’re winning. Our day-to-day facility, the Fertitta Football Complex, is a $35 million facility. And our game-day facility is a $2 billion stadium. No other college football team in the country can say that they play every single home game in a $2 billion stadium. We can.

Our crowds continue to grow and we soon hope to be averaging 50,000 per game, including 10,000 students. When we get there, we will be ecstatic."

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