UNLV athletics shouldn’t have to pull UNR along when it comes to conference realignment.
Should never have to be anchored to the Wolf Pack.
The two should never be viewed as one.
“We are not,” UNLV booster Bill Paulos said, “Siamese twins.”
It’s a few days later, a few days after four Mountain West teams bolted for the Pac-12. After Boise State and Colorado State and Fresno State and San Diego State announced their intentions to join a new conference for the 2026-27 academic year.
UNLV wasn’t among those chosen at this point for the Pac-12. The reasons being floated for why are numerous.
A popular one: UNLV couldn’t depart the Mountain West without UNR. That north and south, red and blue, are a package deal for any sort of movement.
Which, if true, would be preposterous.
History is clear
News of the Defecting Four has dominated the Mountain West news cycle and what it might mean for the conference’s future. For the Rebels, not being involved with a move to the Pac-12 at this point certainly isn’t a good thing unless another such opportunity — the Big 12, maybe? — ever became reality.
Which is definitely a long shot.
It’s unknown if the UNR storyline had a bearing on UNLV not receiving a Pac-12 invitation, but it shouldn’t have in any manner, now or in the future.
History is pretty clear. The teams have been in different conferences more than the same ones. They have had to stand on their own merits more often than not.
Which is how it should be.
One school shouldn’t directly affect the opportunities of another. The better athletic program. The more resourced athletic program. Which is UNLV on both counts.
“I don’t even understand where this narrative is coming from,” regent Heather Brown said. “They are two very distinct schools with two very distinct communities, media markets, trajectories. I do not think, under any circumstance, they should be considered a package deal. It doesn’t make sense.
“It also doesn’t diminish the in-state support, the rivalry. It doesn’t change the system.”
Georgia-Georgia Tech. Iowa-Iowa State. Florida-Florida State. There are other examples nationally in which two of the main universities in the same state aren’t in the same conference.
It’s not some original concept.
It is believed few in the Mountain West, and perhaps no one at UNLV, saw this coming. That it was a surprise to all but the four schools involved.
If so, is this a failure of UNLV’s leadership? Should it have known or been aware of such behind the scenes dealings?
The answer is yes.
“There are no cost savings or administrative efficiency gained from being in the same conference,” a close supporter of UNLV athletics said. “If (UNR) can get an invite from the same conference as UNLV, good for them. But they shouldn’t be joined at the hip. Each school should thrive in the ways they can.
“There is no need for UNLV and UNR to be in the same conference. It has never been a rule, written or unwritten.”
The Pac-12 still needs to add two teams to reach the eight needed for NCAA requirements to be considered a conference, with automatic inclusion into NCAA championships and the College Football Playoff.
UNLV could still be very much in play.
But any ties to UNR shouldn’t be a factor.
Aztecs, Broncos make sense
I get San Diego State and the ability to climb back into the Southern California market with what has been a consistently successful athletics program. I get Boise State and its powerful football brand. Those two are no-brainers.
But how UNLV wasn’t one of the two next programs considered is an upset of massive levels. It can’t be about facilities. It can’t be about a Tier 1 academic institution with a medical school, dental school and law school.
Football, which is all that really matters in these decisions, is undoubtedly on the rise under second-year coach Barry Odom.
It would seem UNLV checks a lot of important boxes.
“I would be saying the same things if it was (UNR) going to a new conference,” Paulos said. “They’re both wonderful schools. But if so, why would you allow one to hold back the other?”
Not sure if such a storyline had anything to do with UNLV being passed over. Maybe none at all. Maybe the Pac-12 has other issues with the school’s potential candidacy.
But if so, if the UNLV-UNR reasoning was a player in this, it’s preposterous.
Red should never be anchored to blue.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
