Fun Facts

To celebrate UNLV's 50th anniversary, we created a weekly trivia game where we provided a clue and a close-up photo of a person, place, or thing on campus. Once an answer was provided, participants were then given a full view of the photo and some additional fun facts. Check out our photos and fun facts below.

1955 — CSNS adopts the Rebel name and the first official mascot, thing , a fanged Confederate cartoon wolf meant to challenge the Wolf Pack mascot of the University of Nevada, Reno. The scarlet and gray school colors evoke the traditional Confederate uniform.

Clue	Answer

1955 — CSNS adopts the Rebel name and the first official mascot, Beauregard , a fanged Confederate cartoon wolf meant to challenge the Wolf Pack mascot of the University of Nevada, Reno. The scarlet and gray school colors evoke the traditional Confederate uniform.

More fun facts about UNLV's mascot

1971 — In a special-initiative election, students vote to retain the Rebel name, rejecting suggested alternatives such as Big Horn Rams, Nuggets, A-Bombs, and Sand Burners. Five years later, though, they vote to replace the Confederate wolf mascot with a human Revolutionary War soldier, which eventually evolves into a more geographically appropriate pioneer figure.

1983 — The Hey Reb mascot makes his debut, embodying UNLV's rebel spirit. After a makeover in 1997, he is named one of 12 All-American Mascots and places second in the 2004 Capital One Mascot of the year competition.

1959 — Place , named for the Las Vegas regent who championed a separate state college in southern Nevada, opens for classes.

Clue	Answer

1959 — Archie C. Grant Hall , named for the Las Vegas regent who championed a separate state college in Southern Nevada, opens for classes.

More fun facts about UNLV's campus expansion

1965 — The Social Sciences Building opens (named in 1976 for longtime history professor John S. Wright).

1970 — The Chemistry Building opens.

1971 — Groundbreaking for William D. Carlson Education Building.

1974 — A new humanities building is named for Flora Dungan, the Las Vegas assemblywoman who successfully sued in federal court to get Clark County a majority of seats in the state legislature.

1982 — Alta Ham Fine Arts Building opens.

1991 — The Richard Tam Alumni Center opens.

1992 — The Rod Lee Bigelow Health Sciences Building opens to house the College of Health Sciences.

1994 — The classroom complex opens (later named for President Harter), with lecture halls, classrooms, and faculty offices, which finally relieves space crunch on campus.

1997 — The Paul B. Sogg Architecture Building opens, featuring a library, classrooms, faculty offices, 20,000 square feet of studio space, and laboratories, allowing students, who were previously meeting in trailers, to interact at all levels.

1997 — Paradise Elementary School moves into a new building on campus, giving education majors immediate training with real teachers and economically disadvantaged students.

2001 — A new four-story parking garage alleviates the chronic crowding problem on campus.

2001 — The 301,000-square-foot, $58 million Lied Library opens, named for real estate entrepreneur Ernst W. Lied, with a robotic book-retrieval system, hundreds of computer workstations, and the latest in electronic data processing.

2007 — The Greenspun College of Urban Affairs breaks ground for the $94 million Greenspun Hall, which will showcase the latest environmental and technological advancements and serve as an anchor for "Midtown UNLV."

2007 — An expanded student union (with study and social lounges, eateries, a new ballroom, and a 300-seat theater) and a new student recreation center (with high-tech weight and fitness rooms, swimming pools, and a juice bar) opens in the fall. Both these facilities reflect UNLV's goal of becoming more student-centered.

1991 — The place is established, with the commitment to raising awareness of women's issues, creating opportunities for personal and professional growth, and to celebrating accomplishments of women.

Clue	Answer

1991 — The Jean Nidetch Women's Center is established, with the commitment to raising awareness of women's issues, creating opportunities for personal and professional growth, and to celebrating accomplishments of women.

More fun facts about women at UNLV

1955 — Monthly student paper, Rebel Yell, debuts with a female editor, Lydia Malcom.

1960 — Under administrator Alice Mason, women's club sports, such as tennis, begin.

1973 — Students organize a local chapter of the National Organization for Women and begin scheduling gender-equity workshops and monthly meetings.

1974 — Lady Rebels, the women's basketball team, starts competing as the first women's varsity sport on campus.

1989 — The Women's Sports Foundation is created to recognize and encourage excellence by women athletes in sports and the classroom.

1995 — Carol Harter, president of the State University of New York-Geneseo, becomes president.

1999 — The women's soccer program starts, with 25 spots and 12 scholarships.

2000 — The Women's Research Institute of Nevada is founded to encourage high-quality research on women.

1975 — The $5 million place opens, complete with a 50-meter indoor pool, two gymnasiums, and eight handball courts.

Clue	Answer

1975 — The $5 million Paul C. McDermott Physical Education complex opens, complete with a 50-meter indoor pool, two gymnasiums, and eight handball courts.

More fun facts about physical education at UNLV

1960 — Groundbreaking for new Physical Education and Health Center featuring a full college-sized basketball court (today's Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History).

1978 — The university senate votes to make physical education an elective rather than part of the school's core curriculum.

1983 — The opening of the 18,500-seat Thomas & Mack Center gives the Runnin' Rebels basketball team an impressive home.

1984 — UNLV negotiates with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority to transfer ownership of what becomes known as the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, the football team's home field.

1993 — Sports programs flourish, with the opening of the 12-court, $1.5 million Frank and Vikki Fetitta Tennis Complex and the 3,000-seat Earl E. Wilson Baseball Stadium.

1996 — The Lied Athletic Complex opens, offering comprehensive facilities for members of all 15 sports.

2001 — The Cox Pavilion opens, providing space for student athletes as well as facilities for corporate parties, women's basketball and volleyball games, university addresses, academic conferences, trade shows, and concerts.

2007 — A new student recreation center with high-tech weight and fitness rooms, swimming pools, and a juice bar opens.

1964 — person and person dance in Nevada Southern's gym in the famous scene from the film Viva Las Vegas.

Clue	Answer

1964 — Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret dance in Nevada Southern's gym in the famous scene from the film Viva Las Vegas.

More fun facts about UNLV's brush with celebrities

1970s — As a foundation board member, Frank Sinatra organizes two benefit shows for UNLV.

1983 — The opening of the 18,500-seat Thomas & Mack Center gives the Runnin' Rebels basketball team an impressive home. Kicked off with fundraiser with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Diana Ross.

2005 — Construction begins on the $113 million thing building, which will have 200,000 square feet of teaching space, laboratories, and high-tech conference rooms. The building, scheduled to be completed in 2008, is designed to support interdisciplinary research; draw students to high-demand fields such as electrical engineering, computer science, and environmental science; and attract national and international researchers.

Clue	Answer

2005 — Construction begins on the $113 million science and engineering building, which will have 200,000 square feet of teaching space, laboratories, and high-tech conference rooms. The building, completed in 2008, is designed to support interdisciplinary research; draw students to high-demand fields such as electrical engineering, computer science, and environmental science; and attract national and international researchers.

More fun facts about science and technology

1961 — New $612,000 science and technology building opens (today's Lilly Fong Geoscience Building).

1968 — Donald Moyer reorganizes NSU's six schools — Business Administration, Education, Science and Mathematics, Fine Arts, Social Science, and Humanities — into colleges.

1970 — The chemistry building opens.

1976 — The life sciences building (later named for regent Juanita White) opens.

1989 — UNLV is awarded one of only 34 supercomputers in the world as part of a federal funding bill for the Department of Energy to study the suitability of building a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

1990 — The Desert Research Institute, the nonprofit research campus of the Nevada System of Higher Education, announces plans to build a new $50 million headquarters at Flamingo and Swenson, giving science students easy access to facilities and personnel.

1994 — The Robert L. Bigelow Physics Building opens.

2001 — The 301,000-square-foot, $58 million place opens, named for the real estate entrepreneur, with a robotic book retrieval system, 96 work stations, and the latest in electronic data processing.

Clue	Answer

2001 — The 301,000-square-foot, $58 million Lied Library opens, named for the real estate entrepreneur, with a robotic book-retrieval system, 96 workstations, and the latest in electronic data processing.

More fun facts about UNLV's libraries

1957 — On September 10, the first classes are held on campus in a new 13,000-square-foot building, which houses all offices, classrooms, science labs, and the library. Two years later, the building is named for Maude Frazier, the state assemblywoman who was a founding force behind Nevada Southern. Like a high school, bells ring to signal the beginning and end of every class. Because of the building's lack of storage space, cages of lizards, frogs, and snakes from biology class line the hallways.

1959/1960 — The library's 2,000 books are moved to Grant Hall to escape the problems of Maude Frazier Hall, including occasional rattlesnakes in hallways, under the desks, and on bookshelves.

1962 — Nevada Southern Foundation, a nonprofit fundraising corporation run by a board of local businessmen, is formed and begins its first fund drive to raise $100,000 to complete the new library. In a show of grassroots support, residents mail in coupons from local newspapers pledging to buy books for the library.

1963 — The first floor of the library opens (which is now the round south wing of the William S. Boyd School of Law), designed to hold 75,000 volumes. The library, named for James R. Dickinson in 1965, added two more floors in 1967. To expand the collection, library head Harold Erickson asks residents to contribute books, microfilm, periodicals, and professional journals from their personal collections.

1998 — The William S. Boyd School of Law opens in a temporary facility, the former Paradise Elementary School. A year later, it receives $28.5 million from James E. Rogers and the Rogers family, the largest charitable gift pledge in Nevada history. In 2002, the school moves on campus to the old site of the James R. Dickinson Library.

1972 — The 575-seat place opens as the first building of the performing arts center.

Clue	Answer

1972 — The 575-seat Judy Bayley Theatre opens as the first building of the performing arts center.

More fun facts about arts and the community

1959 — Students and faculty stage plays at 100-seat Little Theatre in Room 125, Grant Hall.

1963 — About 3,000 students and residents turn out for a Peter, Paul, and Mary concert, sponsored by CSNS.

1975 — Charles Vanda, hired as director of the new performing arts center, establishes the Master Series, bringing to campus such luminaries as Isaac Stern, Andre Previn, and Aaron Copland.

1976 — The 2,000-seat Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall opens.

1986 — Beginning in the fall, UNLV's "Year of the Arts" raises public awareness by offering special exhibitions and concerts and emphasizing arts in its fundraising.

2001 — The Lee and Thomas Beam Music Center — housing a library of thousands of recordings, a 300-seat recital hall, and recording studio and rehearsal rooms — is dedicated.

1983 — Place opens, housing College of Business and Harrah College of Hotel Administration for the next 25 years.

Clue	Answer

1983 — Frank and Estella Beam Hall opens, housing College of Business and Harrah College of Hotel Administration for the next 25 years.

More fun facts about business studies at UNLV

1966 — The first master's degree programs are offered in the education, science, and business administration divisions.

1967 — The School of Business stops offering typing and stenography classes.

1968 — Donald Moyer reorganizes NSU's six schools — Business Administration, Education, Science and Mathematics, Fine Arts, Social Science, and Humanities — into colleges.

2002 — The College of Business establishes the Nevada Business Hall of Fame to honor visionaries in the state; the first inductees include video poker pioneer Si Redd, Valley Bank executive Parry Thomas, and megaresort creator Steve Wynn.

1998 — The place opens in a temporary facility, the former Paradise Elementary School. A year later, it receives $28.5 million from James E. Rogers and the Rogers family, the largest charitable gift pledge in Nevada history. In 2002, the school moves on campus to the old site of the James R. Dickinson Library.

Clue	Answer

More fun facts about the William S. Boyd School of Law

1966 — In recognition that the college is attracting a growing number of students from out of town and out of state, place opens.

Clue	Answer

1966 — In recognition that the college is attracting a growing number of students from out of town and out of state, Tonopah Hall opens.

More fun facts about residence halls

1988 — In response to a large increase in out-of-state and northern Nevada applicants, four new residence halls open.

1981 — The dedication ceremony for Claes Oldenburg's thing sculpture on the plaza of the performing arts center is covered on the "Evening News with Walter Cronkite," and the artwork becomes an instant landmark.

Clue	Answer

1981 — The dedication ceremony for Claes Oldenburg's Flashlight sculpture on the plaza of the performing arts center is covered on the "Evening News with Walter Cronkite," and the artwork becomes an instant landmark.

More fun facts about UNLV in the news

1990s — With proximity to airport, a small plane crashed on campus land near apartments at Swenson and Harmon.

2001 — The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching places UNLV in the category of Doctoral/Research Universities-Intensive.

1960 — First student place built across Maryland Parkway.

Clue	Answer

1960 — First student bookstore built across Maryland Parkway.

More fun facts about the bookstore

1968 — With a new student union building, complete with a bookstore, students no longer have to socialize on the patio behind Maude Frazier Hall.

1969 — The Board of Regents approves the school's name change to University of Nevada at Las Vegas and gives it the thing abbreviation.

Clue	Answer

1969 — The Board of Regents approves the school's name change to University of Nevada at Las Vegas and gives it the UNLV abbreviation.

More fun facts about UNLV's growth

1954 — With growth in enrollment, the extension program becomes the Southern Regional Division of University of Nevada, popularly known as Nevada Southern.

1957 — Nevada Southern becomes a college of the University of Nevada, like its counterparts on Reno campus.

1965 — The college becomes the semi-autonomous Nevada Southern University (NSU), with its own curriculum.

1968 — The university is granted autonomy under the state's higher education system, giving it status equal to that of University of Nevada, Reno; the chancellor becomes a full-fledged university president.

1991 — The Richard Tam Alumni Center opens, housing the thing , designed to reflect the intricate elements of change within the environment.

Clue	Answer

1991 — The Richard Tam Alumni Center opens, housing the Heliotrope , designed to reflect the intricate elements of change within the environment.

More fun facts about UNLV's alumni

1965 — The Alumni Association is founded by former CSNS presidents Jim Bilbray, Bob Schnider, and Stan Colton.

1978 — Alumni Association President Nancy Galyean and the board establish annual awards to recognize faculty, alumni, and members of community.

1982 — The Alumni Association starts awarding academic scholarships.

1981 — The UNLV thing is created to play a major role in coordinating university's endowment and gift-giving programs.

Clue	Answer

1981 — The UNLV Foundation is created to play a major role in coordinating the university's endowment and gift-giving programs.

More fun facts about the foundation

1964 — Before making their allocation, state legislators require Las Vegans to raise $750,000 for the first building of the proposed performing arts center, so Nevada Southern Foundation begins a fundraising drive, led by millionaire developer Wing Fong.

1967 — With land prices soaring, banker Parry Thomas and other Las Vegas businessmen form the nonprofit Nevada Southern Land Foundation in a race against time to acquire key parcels bordering the campus and hold them for later sale to the state, giving UNLV essential room to expand over the years.

1970s — As a foundation board member, Frank Sinatra organizes two benefit shows for UNLV.

2001 — The UNLV Foundation Building opens at a cost of $4.3 million, giving the university's chief fundraising arm vital space for offices and meeting rooms.

2002 — The University Research Foundation is established as part of the UNLV Foundation to help the university obtain and manage highly specialized federal research grants.

2005 — UNLV launches its first comprehensive campaign, Invent the Future, with the goal of raising $500 million by December 2008.

1988 — To celebrate their new home, students from the place paint a trail of green footprints on the sidewalk leading to the $14.7 million Thomas T. Beam Engineering Building.

Clue	Answer

1988 — To celebrate their new home, students from the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering paint a trail of green footprints on the sidewalk leading to the $14.7 million Thomas T. Beam Engineering Building.

More fun facts about engineering

1984 — The civil and mechanical engineering programs win certification from the National Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, held by only 275 other schools in country.

2005 — The Air Force ROTC program is established on campus.

1958 — Classes are cancelled for part of the day so students, faculty, dignitaries, and residents can attend a ceremony marking the first-ever thing at Nevada Southern, at which Las Vegas mayor D.C. Baker delivers the keynote address.

Clue	Answer

1958 — Classes are cancelled for part of the day so students, faculty, dignitaries, and residents can attend a ceremony marking the first-ever flag-raising at Nevada Southern, at which Las Vegas Mayor D.C. Baker delivers the keynote address.

More fun facts about UNLV

1951 — Twelve full-time students and 16 part-timers begin meeting for classes in the dressing rooms of Las Vegas High School's auditorium; whenever the high school stages a play, classes have to be cancelled.

1963 — The superintendent of buildings announces that, with the sidewalks connecting the four buildings nearly finished, tickets will be given to any student caught walking on the lawn.

1964 — At Nevada Southern's first commencement, 29 students graduate as the "Centennial Class," commemorating Nevada's 100th anniversary as a state, though the diplomas do not arrive from Reno until the following May. The official explanation is that the University of Nevada needs time to print new boilerplate material, but the delay only intensifies south-north tensions.

1973 — Complaining that UNLV's campus is too flat, Regent Helen Thompson donates $9,000 to build a 3-foot hill west of the humanities building. (part of this hill is now embedded in the back of the alumni amphitheater.)

1988 — With a growing concern about the prevalence of drinking at school events, UNLV adopts new policies strictly limiting alcohol consumption, essentially creating a dry campus.

1954 — Striving to become more than a two-year junior college program, the school moves beyond the required freshman and sophomore course work and begins hiring instructors to train more students for thing careers.

Clue	Answer

More fun facts about academics

1958 — Nevada Southern receives accreditation from the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools, lending respectability and helping with recruitment.

1960 — Regents authorize establishment of baccalaureate program.

1963 — The number of degree areas expands to include majors in elementary and secondary education, history, political science, psychology, biology, botany, mathematics, pre-medical, pre-dental, and zoology.

1964 — Nevada Southern officially establishes graduate education with the creation of the Division of Graduate Studies.

1965 — Officials of Sigma Zi, the Scientific Research Society, establish the first national honor society on campus.

1966 — NSU publishes the first edition of its very own catalog, symbolizing its independence from Reno.

1966 — The first master's degree programs are offered in the education, science, and business administration divisions.

1967 — The first students graduate with master's degrees — nine from the School of Education and two from the School of Science and Math.

1970 — To promote scholarship, new policies are put in place: the teaching load is reduced to three courses per semester, and faculty in departments with graduate programs are required to publish to gain tenure.

1977 — Five students receive the first doctor of education degrees.

1985 — Twenty-two valedictorians arrive at UNLV, taking advantage of the Elardi Scholarship program, which awards each valedictorian $2,000 annually for up to four years.

1986 — UNLV begins offering degree programs at nearby Nellis Air Force Base.

1991 — The university grants its first Ph.D., in English.

2001 — The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching places UNLV in the category of Doctoral/Research Universities-Intensive.

2004 — University College reopens with the mission to help students without a major and those with lower grades struggling to enter existing programs.

2006 — The regents raise the minimum GPA to 3.0 for admittance to UNLV.

2007 — UNLV confers more than 2,700 degrees during its 44th commencement.

1955 — On May 24, local high school seniors visit nearly every home in the metropolitan area to raise funds for a new campus in what becomes known as the " thing Campaign", so named because as students' efforts extend into the evening.

Clue	Answer

1955 — On May 24, local high school seniors visit nearly every home in the metropolitan area to raise funds for a new campus in what becomes known as the " Porch Light Campaign", so named because as students' efforts extend into the evening.

More fun facts about campus

1954 — At the first-ever board of regents meeting in Las Vegas, an overflow crowd persuades the regents to acquire land for a campus.

1955 — After a lengthy search of various sites for a campus, the regents choose a 60-acre parcel donated by Howard and Estell Wilbourn of Modesto, California. As part of the agreement, the school commits to buying an adjacent 20-acre parcel for $35,000. The state Legislature agrees to appropriate $200,000 for a new building on campus only if Las Vegas residents raise the money for the additional land.

1955 — Local business and political leaders form the Campus Fund Committee to help raise $135,000 for the Nevada Southern campus (the additional $100,000 is intended for supplies, books, and other equipment needed for the new building).

1961 — State legislators appropriate $145,000 to purchase 80 acres of adjacent land, doubling the campus's size.

1973 — Complaining that UNLV's campus is too flat, Regent Helen Thompson donates $9,000 to build a 3-foot hill west of the humanities building. (Part of this hill is now embedded in the back of the alumni amphitheater.)

1974 — Person(s) , the women's basketball team, starts competing as the first women's varsity sport on campus.

Clue	Answer

1974 — Lady Rebels , the women's basketball team, starts competing as the first women's varsity sport on campus.

More fun facts about athletic firsts

1957 — The first athletic organization — the bowling team — meets every Thursday night at local lanes.

1960 — Under administrator Alice Mason, women's club sports, such as tennis, begin.

1971 — Baseball player Herb Pryon throws UNLV's first no-hitter and the only perfect game.

1987 — The UNLV Hall of Fame is created to honor individual athletes, teams, coaches and athletic directors, and donors to athletics programs.

1951 — Person , an English instructor at University of Nevada, Reno, serves as first director, registrar, and only full-time instructor of the new extension program in Las Vegas; each course costs $7.50 with a maximum fee of $23 per semester.

Clue	Answer

1951 — James Dickinson , an English instructor at University of Nevada, Reno, serves as first director, registrar, and only full-time instructor of the new extension program in Las Vegas; each course costs $7.50 with a maximum fee of $23 per semester.

More fun facts about UNLV faculty

1955 — The faculty grows to six professors and 23 part-time instructors.

1956 — Dickinson hires seven more professors, including pioneers John Wright in history and Holbert Hendrix in education.

1965 — With the creation of the faculty senate, professors become part of a governing body that plays a major role in curricular development.

1970 — For the first time, the Rebel football team wins the rights to the thing , a traveling trophy for the winner of the game between UNLV and UNR. Considered one of the best, and loudest, symbols of rivalry in college football, and is a replica of the one used by explorer John C. Fremont as he headed west into Nevada in 1843.

Clue	Answer

1970 — For the first time, the Rebel football team wins the rights to the Fremont Cannon , a traveling trophy for the winner of the game between UNLV and UNR. Considered one of the best, and loudest, symbols of rivalry in college football, and is a replica of the one used by explorer John C. Fremont as he headed west into Nevada in 1843.

More fun facts about UNLV's traditions

1954 — The first Confederate Cotillion, later called the Spring Cotillion, takes place and becomes an annual event typically held at a Strip hotel. Students name the dance after the formal balls of the Old South because they attend the southern branch of the University of Nevada.

1955 — Students attend an inaugural winter dance, Sno-Ball gala, which becomes an annual event.

1958 — To boost campus morale by involving the Las Vegas community, the school holds the first University Day celebration, which becomes an annual weekend event, featuring races; enormous bonfires; and greased pig, egg-throwing, and tug-of-war contests; over the years, local politicians often participate.

1966 — CSNS sponsors the first-ever homecoming on campus, in conjunction with a basketball game against archrival University of Nevada.

1978 — With the student body less interested in formal dances, the raucous annual Oktoberfest celebration begins, featuring The Fox, a human in an animal costume famous for singing bawdy songs and drinking beer while standing on his head.

1970s/1980s — Mardi Gras, an annual spring celebration, begins, with lip-synching, pie-eating, and wet T-shirt contests, best-body competitions, carnival rides, and 25-cent beers. Soon many female students and faculty members object to the sexist tone of the revelry, and the administration worries about UNLV getting a reputation as a party school.

1989 — Oozeball competitions — the game of volleyball in a mud pit — are introduced as a fun alternative to the alcohol-laden festivities of the past.

2004 — The College of thing begins a doctoral program to train much-needed professors.

Clue	Answer

2004 — The College of Nursing begins a doctoral program to train much-needed professors.

More fun facts about medical advancements at UNLV

2001 — The School of Dental Medicine opens to train students and offer low-cost dental care to residents.

2004 — UNLV opens its first regional campus in the medical district on Shadow Lane, with a new facility for School of Dental Medicine and the Forensics and Biotechnology Center.

2004 — The School of Public Health is established in the Division of Health Sciences to address new and emerging public health issues.

1967 — As part of the effort to increase Nevada Southern's national visibility, Bill Ireland is hired to recruit and coach a thing team.

Clue	Answer

1967 — As part of the effort to increase Nevada Southern's national visibility, Bill Ireland is hired to recruit and coach a football team.

More fun facts about UNLV football

1970 — For the first time, the Rebel football team wins rights to the Fremont Cannon, a traveling trophy for the winner of the game between UNLV and UNR. Considered one of the best, and loudest, symbols of rivalry in college football, the cannon is a replica of the one used by explorer John C. Fremont as he headed west into Nevada in 1843.

1978 — The Star of Nevada Marching Band, with more than 100 student musicians, begins pumping up the crowds at Rebel football games.

1984 — UNLV negotiates with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority to transfer ownership of what becomes known as the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, the football team's home field.

1994 — The men's football team wins the Big West Conference championship.

1961 — Thing students form Newman Club and Mormon students form Deseret Club.

Clue	Answer

1961 — Catholic students form Newman Club and Mormon students form Deseret Club.

More fun facts about UNLV's diverse culture and people

1968 — Jewish organizers form B'nai Sholom group, attracting some students.

1971 — The first full-time faculty member for ethnic studies is hired, reflecting the growing importance of black history and the civil rights movement.

1973 — A bilingual recruitment booklet highlights the achievements of UNLV's Hispanic students and urges Spanish-speaking high school seniors to apply.

1990 — Reflecting the more socially responsible atmosphere of the time, Unityfest — a celebration of diverse cultures, foods, and traditions — replaces Oktoberfest as the big student party of the year.

2000 — Wole Soyinka, the first black African to win the Nobel Prize for literature, is appointed to the Elias Ghanem Chair of Creative Writing in the Department of English.

1966 — CSNS sponsors the first-ever thing on campus, in conjunction with a basketball game against archrival University of Nevada.

Clue	Answer

1966 — CSNS sponsors the first-ever homecoming on campus, in conjunction with a basketball game against archrival University of Nevada.

More fun facts about the north and south rivalry with UNR

1954 — The first Confederate Cotillion takes place and becomes an annual event typically held at a Strip hotel. Students name the dance after the formal balls of the Old South because they attend the southern branch of the University of Nevada.

1957 — Nevada Southern becomes a college of the University of Nevada, like its counterparts on Reno campus.

1970 — For the first time, the Rebel football team wins the rights to the Fremont Cannon, a traveling trophy for the winner of the game between UNLV and UNR. Considered one of the best, and loudest, symbols of rivalry in college football, the cannon is a replica of the one used by explorer John C. Fremont as he headed west into Nevada in 1843.

1977 — Over the academic year, for the first time, UNLV surpasses UNR in total enrollment.

1971 — Future U.S. Senator person speaks at an antiwar rally at UNLV.

Clue	Answer

1971 — Future U.S. Senator John Kerry speaks at an antiwar rally at UNLV.

More fun facts about activism on campus

1967 — Members of SHAME (Students Helping to Assist and Maintain Education) hang Governor Paul Laxalt in effigy from Grant Hall as part of a campaign to lobby state legislators for more money for Nevada Southern.

1968 — Activists form STRUD (Students to Remove Upstate Domination) to support Chancellor Moyer's efforts to gain autonomy for NSU.

1969 — In protest of higher-education budget cuts, students create Education City — a scrapboard shantytown on campus, where professors teach classes for a week. Students effectively communicate their unhappiness to the regents.

1971 — In response to student protests, President Zorn supports the creation of the university senate, allowing students to serve alongside faculty representatives and vote on university matters.

2000 — Hotel executive Glenn Schaeffer founds the International Institute for Modern Letters to support emerging writers and combat censorship worldwide.

2006 — UNLV opens its first international campus in place , where the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration offers its bachelor's degree program in hospitality management.

Clue	Answer

2006 — UNLV opens its first international campus in Singapore , where the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration offers its bachelor's degree program in hospitality management.

More fun facts about off-campus expansion

1986 — UNLV begins offering degree programs at nearby Nellis Air Force Base.

2004 — UNLV opens its first regional campus in the medical district on Shadow Lane, with a new facility for School of Dental Medicine and the Forensics and Biotechnology Center.

More fun facts about UNLV's leadership

1951 — James Dickinson, an English instructor at University of Nevada, Reno, serves as first director, registrar, and only full-time instructor of the new extension program in Las Vegas; each course costs $7.50 with a maximum fee of $23 per semester.

1957 — William D. Carson, dean of student affairs at Reno, takes over as dean of Nevada Southern.

1957 — With instruction and service emphasized over research, faculty teach a strenuous 5-5 course load (five courses each in the fall and spring semesters).

1965 — Donald Moyer, president of Eastern New Mexico University, becomes Nevada Southern's first chancellor.

1968 — Academic Vice President Donald Baepler becomes interim president.

1969 — Roman Zorn, president of Keene Teachers College in New Hampshire, becomes UNLV's president.

1973 — Donald Baepler, academic vice president, becomes UNLV's next president.

1978 — Brock Dixon, dean of administration, serves as interim president.

1979 — Leonard "Pat" Goodall, vice chancellor of University of Michigan-Dearborn, becomes UNLV's next president.

1984 — Robert Maxson, senior vice president of University of Houston's main campus, becomes president.

1994 — Kenny Guinn, who went on to become governor of Nevada, serves as interim president.

1995 — Carol Harter, president of the State University of New York-Geneseo, becomes president.

2006 — David B. Ashley, executive vice president chancellor and provost of University of California, Merced, becomes president.

1971 — In a special-initiative election, students vote to retain the thing name, rejecting suggested alternatives such as Big Horn Rams, Nuggets, A-Bombs, and Sand Burners. Five years later, though, they vote to replace the Confederate wolf mascot with a human Revolutionary War soldier, which eventually evolves into a more geographically appropriate pioneer figure.

Clue	Answer

More fun facts about students' presence on campus

1952 — Veterans begin enrolling in classes under the GI Bill of Rights and remain a fixture of the student body from then on.

1954 — All the students convene to elect their first president, Tom Krause, who pledges to draw up a constitution for what becomes the Confederated Students of Nevada Southern (CSNS).

1971 — CSUN establishes a birth control and abortion information center in the student union.

1978 — The number of out-of-state students grows to nearly 16 percent.

1985 — Twenty-two valedictorians arrive at UNLV, taking advantage of the Elardi Scholarship program, which awards each valedictorian $2,000 annually for up to four years.

2006 — Nobel laureate person delivers a lecture to a capacity crowd of 1,500 to mark the debut of the Black Mountain Institute, which will bring artists and scholars together for public forums on major issues.

Clue	Answer

2006 — Nobel laureate Toni Morrison delivers a lecture to a capacity crowd of 1,500 to mark the debut of the Black Mountain Institute, which will bring artists and scholars together for public forums on major issues.

More fun facts about notable speakers on campus

1964 — Various speakers come to campus, including anthropologist Margaret Mead, activist Angela Davis, and New York Times correspondent Harrison Salisbury.

1971 — Future U.S. Senator John Kerry speaks at an anti-war rally at UNLV.

1980 — Marjorie Barrick donates $1.2 million to fund a lecture series that attracts major world figures to school, such as Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Walter Cronkite, and Henry Kissinger.

1959/1960 — The library's 2,000 books are moved to Grant Hall to escape the problems of place , including occasional rattlesnakes in hallways, under the desks, and on bookshelves.

Clue	Answer

1959/1960 — The library's 2,000 books are moved to Grant Hall to escape the problems of Maude Frazier Hall , including occasional rattlesnakes in hallways, under the desks, and on bookshelves.

More fun facts about Maude Frazier Hall

1957 — On September 10, the first classes are held on campus in a new 13,000-square-foot building, which houses all offices, classrooms, science labs, and the library. Two years later, the building is named for Maude Frazier, the retired school teacher and principal and state assemblywoman who was a founding force behind Nevada Southern. Like at a high school, bells ring to signal the beginning and end of every class. Faculty offices are squeezed into one room, and because of the building's lack of storage space, cages of lizards, frogs, and snakes from biology class line the hallways.

1968 — With a new student union building, complete with a bookstore, students no longer have to socialize on the patio behind Maude Frazier Hall.

1990 — The Runnin' Rebels win the NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament against person(s) , 103-73, setting a record for the margin of victory in a championship game.

Clue	Answer

1990 — The Runnin' Rebels win the NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament against Duke , 103-73, setting a record for the margin of victory in a championship game.

More fun facts about Rebel basketball

1958 — The legendary founder of the formal sports program, Michael "Chub" Drakulich, arrives to start a men's basketball team.

1966 — CSNS sponsors the first-ever homecoming on campus, in conjunction with a basketball game against archrival University of Nevada.

1967 — Basketball player Elburt Miller scores 55 points in one game — still the school record.

1973 — Jerry Tarkanian is hired as the men's basketball coach. In his 19-year career, he will post a 509-105 record, including taking four teams to the NCAA Final Four. In honor of Tarkanian's achievements as UNLV's "winningest" coach, the basketball court at the Thomas & Mack Center is dedicated to him in 2005.

1983 — The opening of the 18,500-seat Thomas & Mack Center gives the Runnin' Rebels basketball team an impressive home. Kicked off event with fundraiser with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Diana Ross.

1986 — At the annual Holiday Festival, the Runnin' Rebels set a home attendance record of 20,321.

1955 — Monthly student paper, thing , debuts with a female editor, Lydia Malcom.

Clue	Answer

1955 — Monthly student paper, Rebel Yell , debuts with a female editor, Lydia Malcom.

More fun facts about the Rebel Yell

1970 — The December 11 issue of the school paper changes its name to Yell in response to African-American student activist Bert Babero's assertion that the Rebel nickname, with its Confederate associations, is racist.

1974 — The College of Hotel Administration, together with Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada, begins thing , an annual wine-tasting event to raise money for scholarships.

Clue	Answer

1974 — The College of Hotel Administration, together with Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada, begins UNLVino , an annual wine-tasting event to raise money for scholarships.

More fun facts about the College of Hotel Administration

1966 — To create a hotel school, Nevada Resort Association pledges $280,000 NSU's first major gift from private industry.

1983 — Frank and Estella Beam Hall opens, housing College of Business and William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration for the next 25 years.

2000 — Hotel executive Glenn Schaeffer founds the International Institute for Modern Letters to support emerging writers and combat censorship worldwide.

2005 — Plans are announced for a new complex for the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, INNovation Village, featuring a deluxe hotel where student and faculty can test the newest ideas in resort industry.

2006 — UNLV opens its first international campus in Singapore, where the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration offers its bachelor's degree program in hospitality management.

1998 — The men's person(s) team wins the NCAA national championship, only the second team to do so in UNLV's history.

Clue	Answer

1998 — The men's golf team wins the NCAA national championship, only the second team to do so in UNLV's history.

More fun facts about golf at UNLV

2004 — Golfer Ryan Moore becomes the only amateur in history to win five championships in a single year — U.S. Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public Links, Western Amateur, Players, and NCAA.

2005 — UNLV embarks on "Midtown UNLV," a public-private partnership to revitalize the historic place area with cafes, art galleries, residences, and pedestrian-friendly walkways.

Clue	Answer

2005 — UNLV embarks on "Midtown UNLV," a public-private partnership to revitalize the historic Maryland Parkway area with cafes, art galleries, residences, and pedestrian-friendly walkways.

More fun facts about community outreach

1965 — To meet the demand for off-campus classes and to help the community grow, Moyer supports creation of the Division of Continuing Education.

1997 — Paradise Elementary School moves into a new building on campus, giving education majors direct training with real teachers and economically disadvantaged students.

2000 — The William G. Bennett Professional Development Center opens next to the new Paradise Elementary School.

2001 — The School of Dental Medicine opens to train students and offer low-cost dental care to residents.

2003 — The Lynn Bennett Early Childhood Development Center — a state-of-the-art preschool enrolling children of students, faculty, staff, and the general public — opens. As one of its primary goals, the center supports research conducted by UNLV faculty and their students.

2003 — The Institute for Security Studies is established to address homeland security concerns.

2004 — The School of Public Health is established in the Division of Health Sciences to address new and emerging public health issues.