In The News: Intercollegiate Athletics
The UNLV Rebels football team absolutely dominated the annual Mountain West Conference postseason awards, following what can only be described as a historic season.
UNLV head coach Barry Odom and quarterback Jayden Maiava are receiving recognition for the Rebels' incredible run this year. The Mountain West on Tuesday named Odom the conference's coach of the year and Maiava as freshman of the year. Kicker Jose Pizano also was named special teams player of the year.
With UNLV Football currently in its best season in 30 years, the team’s coach is getting some well-deserved recognition. According to UNLV, Odom is the first Mountain West Coach of the Year from UNLV in nearly a quarter century.
In Southern Nevada, the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels’ arena — the Thomas & Mack Center — is 40 years old.
The UNLV football team woke up to good news Sunday morning.
UNLV will host Boise State in the Mountain West Conference championship game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday after a computer ranking was used to break a three-way tie for first place.
UNLV (9-3) has been a revelation in coach Barry Odom's first season. Prior to this season, the Rebels had finished with a winning record in Mountain West play just twice since joining from the WAC in 1999. Their nine wins are the most they have had since going 11-2 in 1984 as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.
The Mountain West made it official on Sunday morning, announcing UNLV as the host of the 2023 conference championship game after roughly 12 hours of computation. Now UNLV will have an opportunity to cap its improbable turnaround season with a Mountain West championship.
UNLV will host Boise State in the 2023 Mountain West Football Championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, Dec. 2. Boise State, San José State, and UNLV all finished the regular season with identical 6-2 MW records. Since all three teams did not face each other head-to-head as part of the mini round-robin tiebreak, and no team was ranked in the latest College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, the three-way tie was broken by computer rankings from Anderson & Hester, Colley Matrix, Massey and Wolfe.
Over 365 volunteers from various organizations will participate this year. Following the shopping experience, the kids will be treated to a sports day with student athletes from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and hear an inspiring speech from Dr. Keith Whitfield, president of UNLV.
The impact of Super Bowl LVIII will be felt far beyond Allegiant Stadium.