Sources: UNLV-Wisconsin 2011 opener likely moving to Thursday night on ESPN

By Ryan Greene

Sunday, March 27, 2011 | 4:45 p.m.

Sources confirmed to the Sun on Sunday that a deal should be reached by the middle of this week for UNLV's 2011 football season opener at Wisconsin to be moved to Thursday, Sept. 1, and aired on ESPN.

Both sides and conferences have agreed to the change, with ESPN simply now needing to give the final OK to the deal.

The Rebels' trip to Madison is in return from last year's season opener, which Wisconsin won at Sam Boyd Stadium, 41-21. The Badgers went on to finish 11-1 in the regular season, splitting the Big Ten title. They were bounced, however, in the Rose Bowl by Mountain West foe TCU, 21-19.

The move makes sense for a couple of reasons on the UNLV side.

Obviously, getting on the ESPN family of networks gives the program a healthy dose of national exposure, while the team will also gain two days of added rest between that game and the following Sept. 10 trip to Pullman, Wash., to take on Washington State.

UNLV's 2011 home opener will be on Sept. 17 vs. Hawai'i in its third game of the season.

For more on this story as it develops, stay tuned to lasvegassun.com/rebels.