UNLV inks four-year football deal with Navy; Hawaii still in the works

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008 | 2:19 p.m.

The UNLV football program has agreed to a four-year deal with Navy, as the two schools will square off on a rotating basis beginning in 2014.

The Rebels will host the Midshipmen in 2014 and 2016, while UNLV will head to Annapolis, Md., in 2015 and 2017.

"They're just an excellent opponent to play," athletic director Mike Hamrick said. "They have national TV exposure with CBS, it'd be a great experience for our kids to play in Annapolis, and I think it'd be a very ineteresting game for our fans."

It will be an interesting opportunity for the Navy fan base, too, as there is a heavy contingent in the San Diego area - just a few short ours away.

"I think that was a consideration," Hamrick added.

Granted, the series doesn't begin until mid-way through the next decade, but if things hold up as they are, it could be a very solid non-conference test for the Rebels. Navy, an independent school with no conference affiliation in football, is 2-2 this season, and a year ago went 8-5, finishing the season with a 35-32 loss in the Poinsettia Bowl to Utah. Head coach Paul Johnson took off after last season for the same position at Georgia Tech.

Hamrick said a new deal is also in the works with Hawaii, but it is still being finalized - a process which he said could take anywhere from a few days to a few months. The Rebels most recently faced the Warriors in both 2006 and 2007.

The Rebels also have non-conference series on the horizon with the likes of Washington State and Minnesota.