Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Sanchez using new Las Vegas stadium to boost recruiting

Tony Sanchez third signing day

Mikayla Whitmore

UNLV head coach Tony Sanchez announces his third signing class to reporters at the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017.

Just one day after it was confirmed that an NFL team would be relocating to Las Vegas and providing a brand-new stadium for the UNLV football program, Rebels coach Tony Sanchez said he’s already received some rave reviews from potential recruits.

Sanchez was a vocal proponent of luring the Raiders and building the stadium, citing the positive impact the new facility would have on UNLV’s recruiting efforts, and he was all smiles when relaying the early feedback after Wednesday’s practice.

“Absolutely, we’ve heard from a lot of kids. Even other coaches have sent me messages like, ‘Wow coach, that’s huge for the program,’” Sanchez said. “One of the funniest things was, kids we’re recruiting were sending me messages congratulating us. It’s pretty cool when kids you’re recruiting are reaching out to you saying congrats. It’s like, hey, commit [to UNLV] and congrats to you too, right? It’ll be your new home.”

The stadium, which is set to open in 2020, represents a big part of Sanchez’s vision for resurrecting the UNLV program. The third-year coach has already spearheaded an effort to construct a new building for the Rebels’ football offices, which has also gone over well with potential recruits.

The Fertitta Football Complex is still in the fundraising stages, with groundbreaking set to happen as soon as Sanchez and the Rebels collect enough capital to start construction.

Between the Fertitta Complex, the new stadium and (hopefully) better play on the field, Sanchez thinks UNLV can attract enough talented players to turn the school into a consistent winner.

“No one has ever invested at all in this [program],” he said. “For the first time, we’ve got people that have stepped up. We’re not 100 percent there on the [Fertitta Complex] yet, but we’ve raised $18 million. Are you kidding me? That’s huge. We have a stadium that gives us an opportunity to play in a world-class facility … You know what we’re doing for the first time? We’re giving ourselves a chance.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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