Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

commentary:

UNLV not ready to join the Big 12, at least not yet

UNLV Defeats Hawaii in Homecoming Game

L.E. Baskow

UNLV’s Lexington Thomas is hoisted up in celebration after a touchdown run against Hawaii at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015.

Practice makes perfect.

The discussion between officials from UNLV and the Big 12 Conference about the Rebels being part of the league’s expansion plans should be brief. UNLV isn’t ready to be part of a bigger conference, at least not yet.

While Las Vegas is one of the world’s elite cities and deserving of hosting a league more notable than the Mountain West, UNLV is still working toward becoming a university worthy of inclusion.

But it isn’t that far off — something school officials will surely stress to the Big 12, whose leaders have said they want to add a school their conference can grow with.

“We’re looking for members that will grow over time as we grow and bring stability and have a high top end,” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in July.

That’s UNLV, right?

The Rebels, by all indications, are slowly building a football program on the verge of becoming a perennial Mountain West contender. The team is recruiting at a high level, has plans for a multimillion-dollar training facility on campus and could move into a new game-day home it shares with an NFL team.

When all that happens — say, in the next five years if all goes as planned — it will be time for officials to aggressively pursue making a move. And that’s why showing interest now in the Big 12 is important.

By flirting with the Big 12 this summer, something Athletic Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy confirmed last weekend, they’ll know what to expect in the future when jockeying to join a better league. Like all of the nearly 20 teams that expressed interest in being part of the Big 12 expansion, the Rebels should get their chance to make a sales pitch.

And that’s invaluable moving forward. For UNLV, this is a learning experience. It’s practice.

There’s no playbook on how to navigate negotiations to join a new league. And if there were a cheat sheet, UNLV officials wouldn't have access to it.

They’ve surely looked in the mirror and evaluated the athletic department to identify areas they need to improve in. But until someone else looks at you naked, your flaws might not be discovered.

ESPN reports Bowlsby will conduct video-conference interviews with at least 18 schools. Cincinnati and Houston are widely considered the favorites to join the league, if it decides to expand at all. (Some feel the Big 12 will stay at 10 members.) Five schools from the Mountain West — Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico and San Diego State — are reportedly also interested.

So, what if the stadium for the Oakland Raiders, one with a funding model relying heavily on public money from tourism taxes, were already built? And what if coach Tony Sanchez, say after five years on the job, had delivered in bringing the Rebels respectability?

Then, and only then, would UNLV be a contender for a new league.

But those what-ifs are just a vision, and it’s a vision not shared by all. Some feel the stadium deal, like other projects before it in Las Vegas, won’t happen. And UNLV football, until Sanchez starts winning, still has the stigma of being a losing program.

The timing isn’t right for UNLV to leave the Mountain West. But this won’t be the only opportunity. College athletics are always changing. Next time, whether that’s in five or 10 years, the university will be in a better position.

At least they are pursuing better opportunities. That’s progress. That’s what makes flirting with the Big 12 great practice.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

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