Sanchez travels back to Gorman to receive national award

By Taylor Bern

Saturday, April 18, 2015 | 2 a.m.

It takes about 20 minutes to travel from Tony Sanchez’s present to his past, something he did Friday for the first time since leaving Bishop Gorman to become the 11th football coach in UNLV history. The accomplishment that brought him back felt much further away than that trek or the four and a half months ticked off on the calendar.

“It seems like years ago,” Sanchez said.

At a morning assembly in Gorman’s gym, Sanchez was presented with the USA Today All-USA Coach of the Year Trophy he won after leading the Gaels to the outlet’s national championship with an undefeated season that included a sixth straight state championship. The Gaels won that title on Dec. 6 and the next day, Sanchez said, he was working on contract negotiations for a deal with UNLV that was announced Dec. 10.

That didn’t leave a whole lot of time for reflection.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Sanchez said of being back on Gorman’s sprawling campus. “There really hasn’t been any time to enjoy it. I think that’s something you do at the end of your career.”

To merge his old life with his new one, however briefly, Sanchez had to get special permission from the NCAA. The spring evaluation period started Wednesday, but that means only that assistants may travel to perform evaluations. It doesn’t allow either head coach involvement or face-to-face communication.

But with the NCAA’s blessing, Sanchez was able to make a brief appearance to see some familiar faces and pose with his players and the national championship banner they won together.

“You accomplish a task that seemed insurmountable when you first got here and now here we are building Bishop Gorman into one of the top teams in America,” Sanchez said, “and now on to the next challenge.”

That challenge continues Saturday afternoon as the Rebels wrap up practices with the Spring Showcase from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Peter Johann Memorial Field on UNLV’s campus. Fans are encouraged to attend the free event.

Sanchez promises a lot of energy but he knows better than to promise a perfect performance, either this weekend or in his first season. No matter how short the commute, a program doesn’t tab a high school coach to move to Division I for just the fifth time in recent history because things are going well.

“There’s so much to get done at UNLV. We have a long way to go,” Sanchez said. “There’s a reason why I got the opportunity.”

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.