Dec. 8, 2000

"I would like to thank the selection committee. I can tell you that once we found out we were bowl eligible, I surveyed our seniors on where they wanted to go - there was a possibility of here, a possibility there. 100 percent wanted to come to Las Vegas. They're extremely excited about being here and we'd like to thank everyone involved in the selection process."

"We have an awesome respect for Coach (John) Robinson. I was fortunate enough to have him come to our clinic just a couple of years ago. I remember watching him on the sidelines for a lot of teams on every level from college to professional. He's done a great job. A great job with the city. We have an awesome respect for what he's done with this ball club. Our players, like Coach (Frank) Broyles mentioned, watched (the UNLV vs. Ole Miss) game and are still watching that film of one of our SEC opponents and what a great job (Robinson) did against them."

"Our players can't wait. They can't wait to get away from the finals. Throw the finals away and come on, but we're trying to encourage them to do a little studying until they come. That is critical."

"I was wanting to know Coach Robinson. We've had 10 (players undergo) operations. This has been very unusual. We lost three quality running backs. We've had five shoulders. Three ankles. And we just lost two players just in yesterday's practice. I was wanting to know if we could make a deal - this is Las Vegas - can we not practice until the game? Okay, it's a done deal."

"It really is a privilege to be here. I appreciate it. Thank you."