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TINA'S TAKE - MAY 2016
As the school year comes to an end and our campus turns to celebrating graduations this weekend, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on an incredibly eventful spring for UNLV Athletics.
First, let me congratulate the more than 50 Rebel student-athletes who are eligible to take part in Saturday's commencement ceremonies. We are truly proud of their accomplishments on and off the field and we look forward to following the careers of these outstanding young men and women who are now "Rebels for Life!"
Some of those earning their diplomas this semester were also members of our four most recent Mountain West Conference championship teams. In fact, we are still catching our collective breath after watching UNLV women's golf, men's golf, women's tennis and finally men's tennis all bring home a league crown during a whirlwind 12-day period from April 20 to May 1.
Those four represent the most conference titles our department has earned in eight years and, amazingly, we became just the sixth school in NCAA Division I history to sweep both golf and both tennis tournaments in the same academic year. While we celebrate all of the outstanding academic accomplishments of our 17 varsity programs here at UNLV, college sports is also about winning, and these four teams made our campus and community proud in creating their own life-long memories of triumph en route to securing automatic bids to their respective NCAA Championship events. What a way to end the school year!
Of course, the story that earned the most media coverage this semester was UNLV's search for a new men's basketball coach. After a well-documented rollercoaster ride, President Len Jessup, former UNLV great Robert Smith and I were proud to announce the choice of Marvin Menzies on April 16 to return to Las Vegas and lead the Runnin' Rebels. We officially reintroduced Coach Menzies to Southern Nevada after his contract was approved by the Board of Regents on April 22 and the former UNLV assistant under Lon Kruger has done a masterful job of building a new staff and nearly all-new roster in a short amount of time. After also serving as an assistant at places such as Louisville, USC and San Diego State, and then a long and successful stint leading New Mexico State, Marvin is now enjoying his dream job every day at UNLV. As I said at the press conference, sometimes you have to make a few lefts to get to the right outcome and I know that Marvin Menzies will run a program that we can all be proud of and cheer for on the court starting this November.
For those of you who would like to discuss Rebel Athletics with me, please call me at 702-895-4404 and I will get back to you in a timely manner. We appreciate your support and look forward to a great summer in preparation for a successful 2016-17 year!
Talk to you soon and - Go Rebels!
Tina Kunzer-Murphy
UNLV Director of Athletics
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June 1 - Season Ticket Renewal Deadline Reminder For Football, Men's Basketball & Rebel Athletic Fund
The season ticket renewal deadline is approaching fast, so if you have not yet renewed, now is the time. June 1 is the renewal deadline for football season tickets, men's basketball season tickets, and Rebel Athletic Fund priority donations.
Thanks to everyone who has already renewed or purchased new season tickets. Season ticket holders are the lifeblood of our programs and we need your support again this year. Click Here to renew online today!
New season tickets are also on sale now for both football and men's basketball. If you did not have season tickets this past year, now is your chance to jump on board. Thank you Rebel fans for your support of our student-athletes!
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Menzies Completes Runnin' Rebel Coaching Staff
UNLV men's basketball head coach Marvin Menzies recently announced the completion of his coaching staff. Loaded with experience, the UNLV Family welcomes Andre LaFleur, Rob Jeter and Eric Brown to Las Vegas. LaFleur was most recently the associate head coach at Providence for five years, Jeter was the head coach at Milwaukee for 11 seasons and Brown was an assistant at Long Beach State for the last nine years.
UNLV fans are invited to both Born And Raised locations this month for a meet and greet with the entire men's basketball coaching staff. Both events are open to the public and fans in attendance will have the chance to win a pair of Runnin' Rebel season tickets and other Rebel gear.
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Spring Football
Head coach Tony Sanchez wrapped up his second UNLV Football Spring Practice session in April with the annual Showcase held before a big crowd on campus. The weather cut the game in half but fans still got a good sneak peek of their 2016 Rebels as we all get ready for an exciting season. The program will get plenty of exposure this fall as no less than five games have already been selected for national television.
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Follow The Rebels All Season Long ... Socially and Online
Get all of the up-to-the-minute information, photos, video and more by following UNLV Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and on the official athletics website UNLVRebels.com. In addition, most of the teams' athletic events are video streamed for free both live and available via archive by the Mountain West Network at UNLVRebels.com/videos.
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Other UNLV News & Notes
Five UNLV Athletics sports programs have earned a perfect single-year NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 1000, while women's golf and women's tennis earned recognition for being in the nation's top 10 percent with multi-year scores of 1000, as the national organization released its most recent data for the 2014-15 academic year on April 20 ... Senior diver Lucas James and senior women's soccer player Samantha Weber earned the UNLV Male and Female Scholar Athlete of the Year awards at the 31st Annual UNLV Scholar-Athlete Honors Banquet, which was held at the MGM Grand Conference Center last Friday ... On the same day that men's golf team won the Mountain West Championship, former Rebel golfer Charley Hoffman won his fourth career PGA Tour title at the Valero Texas Open. It was the 28th total win on tour for former Rebel golfers ... Although the score is not yet final, UNLV has won its fourth straight title in the Governor's Series as the current score is 25.5-16.5 with six points remaining available (outdoor track & field and baseball still to go) ... Baseball will play its final home series of the season this weekend vs. Fresno State before closing the regular season in Reno next weekend. The conference tournament will be held in Albuquerque, N.M., May 25-29 ... Softball concludes its season this weekend at Fresno State ... Women's golf concluded its season at its 14th straight NCAA Regional, which was played at Stanford earlier this month ... Men's golf will compete at its NCAA-record 28th straight regional in Alabama starting Monday ... Women's tennis will play in their 12th NCAA Tournament on Friday when it takes on No 20 USC at Pepperdine ... Men's tennis will be looking to post its first NCAA win in 18 years when it faces 11th-ranked USC on Friday in Los Angeles ... Track & Field is currently competing at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships in Clovis, Calif.
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