How a ‘One Nevada’ mindset holds back the development of UNLV

Back when I was considering leaving my job as dean of the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona to come to Las Vegas to take the helm as president at UNLV, I was attracted by the clear, exciting future that both UNLV and Las Vegas were steadily heading into together.

I could see, even back then, that exciting things lay ahead. I often said in my formal remarks as UNLV president, as well as in private settings, that there was “something special about this university, in this place, at this time …”

Part of that vision was helping UNLV ascend as one of the top 130 or so Carnegie R1 research universities in the country, out of more than 4,000 or so colleges and universities across the nation. Another key part of that vision was building an infrastructure for UNLV athletics that would enable it to expand and succeed, ultimately moving into a better conference should the opportunity present itself.

In fact, we talked with university presidents, athletic directors, coaches and commissioners of “power” conferences, and their advice was clear and simple. “Continue to make the academic improvements that you are making, including adding a medical school, building out the research enterprise, and achieving Carnegie R1.” On the athletic side, their advice was equally straightforward. “Get a stadium deal done, build a football practice facility, and get better at football.”

All of that has been accomplished, and then some. As we expected, UNLV is now presented with a potential opportunity to join the new Pac-12. Granted, this is not the Pac-12 of old, the “conference of champions” that included Stanford, USC, UCLA, Washington and other perennial athletics powerhouses (including Arizona in basketball). It does still include two incredible institutions both academically and athletically in Oregon State and Washington State, and is quickly cannibalizing the better schools athletically from the Mountain West.

Most people would agree that, at this point, it would be better for UNLV to be in a newly constituted Pac-12 than to be left behind in a Mountain West containing only the leftovers.

I am seeing an opinion expressed by some regents publicly and privately that we need to block UNLV from going to a better conference because it needs to continue to be tethered to UNR (referred to as “Nevada” by my friends up north). In this case, the governance model and “ethos” of “One Nevada” is holding UNLV back from achieving its natural, undeniable and deserved future. Here are some arguments to consider.

Tethering universities

Other states with unitary governance of their universities are not held to this same restriction when it comes to athletic conferences. There are countless examples of neighboring states where multiple D1 schools play in different athletic conferences. Some examples would include:

• Utah and Arizona don’t restrict the movement of Arizona State, University of Arizona or University of Utah, based on the movement of Northern Arizona or Utah State.
• The University of Utah and BYU are in the same conference, while Utah State is not.
• Washington and Washington State are in separate conferences.
• Colorado and Colorado State are in separate conferences.
• Oregon and Oregon State are in separate conferences.
• New Mexico and New Mexico State are in separate conferences.
• Idaho and Idaho State are in separate conferences.
• The University of California and Cal State athletics teams play across myriad conferences.
• And the linking of UNLV and UNR in collegiate athletic conferences hasn’t always been the case either — UNR was not added to the Mountain West Conference until 2012 (UNLV was an inaugural member in 1999). Further, UNLV has dominated the intrastate athletics competition since it was created. In any event, tethering the two universities in this way just doesn’t make sense, and is not the common practice in nearby states.

UNLV and UNR are both incredible universities with their own unique strengths and opportunities, and neither should be constrained by the opportunities and/or directions of the other. Further, the two schools can compete against each other even if they are in different conferences, a practice that is common across the nation.

Tale of two cities

The two metros of Las Vegas and Reno are different in scale, and that’s OK. Las Vegas is the 29th-largest metro and the 40th-largest media market in the United States, while Reno is the 103rd-largest metro and the 102nd-largest media market.

Because Las Vegas is easier to fly into and out of throughout the year, it is attractive to other collegiate teams and conferences, as evidenced by the success of the recent Vegas Kickoff Classic featuring USC and LSU, as well as the many Pac-12 league championships held here.

Las Vegas has also positioned itself as a sports hub with new professional teams and venues, and with Allegiant Stadium now available to the UNLV football team.

In short, Las Vegas has a lot to offer to a collegiate athletic conference, and that should be fortified. Would it be fair and prudent to hold the University of Washington athletic teams — from the Seattle market— to the constraints experienced in Pullman, Wash.? Similarly, would it be fair to hold the economic growth potential of Portland, Ore., to the constraints of Corvallis or Eugene? Or Salt Lake City to that of Provo or Logan? Las Vegas shouldn’t be constrained by the limits of Reno; in fact, doing so would ultimately hurt the prospects for Reno, and every other city in Nevada.

It’s all about the student experience

We’ve seen some try to argue that allowing UNLV to change conferences would be bad for student-athletes. That’s just wrong. Allowing UNLV student athletics to compete in a newly fashioned Pac-12 would enhance the student experience, exposure, competition, opportunities, NIL, and just about any other outcome that matters to them.

The decision to constrain the fate of UNLV athletics hurts the prospects not only of the institution but also of the individual athletes and their ability to leverage their own opportunities for the future. With the changes to NIL in particular, allowing student-athletes to make money from their personal brand, conferences and their prestige becomes even more important to college athletes.

In fact, by not allowing student-athletes to move to this conference, anyone involved in that decision could be liable legally to these students in much the same vein as the Ed O’Bannon case successfully argued that student-athletes at the time were being held back by the use of their likeness in video games.

In a broader sense, I would also add that the overall student experience is enhanced by the university competing with better teams, in a better conference, with better competition, with broader exposure, and with a lot more excitement.

It’s too expensive

We’ve seen some try to argue that it would be too expensive for UNLV to allow them to move into a newly fashioned Pac-12 conference. Granted, it might be marginally more expensive to compete in the newly fashioned Pac-12 from an operational perspective, but the payouts over time from media deals would also be commensurately better, as would the attendance draws both in-person and virtually.

Similarly, there would be some legacy Pac-12 money that could be brought to bear to help UNLV pay for its “out” clause upon leaving the Mountain West. This is also likely something that would be very attractive to UNLV athletics boosters as a campaign to raise funding to help UNLV make the move to the Pac-12. Finally, it would be more expensive in the long run for UNLV athletics to not make the move to the Pac-12, and instead be relegated to a diminished Mountain West.

In closing, if there is any chance for UNLV to move to the newly fashioned Pac-12, I say we let them do it. And if board members are trying to tether UNLV to its northern counterpart, that is just flat-out wrong, unfair to UNLV and to Las Vegas, and it ultimately hurts the entire state. Let UNLV chart its own course.

Go Rebels! Let’s help build a new conference of champions!

 

Len Jessup is a fellow at the Lincy Institute, two-time university president, two-time business school dean, long-time professor of tech and entrepreneurship, and author of an Amazon bestseller on selfless leadership with Forbes publishing.