March 13, 2000
LAS VEGAS - UNLV will travel to the University of Hawaii to play the Rainbow Warriors in a December 2 football game, the school announced Monday.
The Rebels replaced the University of Texas as a UH opponent after the Longhorns announced last week that they were pulling out of a scheduled September 2 game. The NCAA allows teams that play at Hawaii to play a 12th game.
"I see it as a chance for two up-and-coming programs to meet," UNLV Head Coach John Robinson said. "It's great for the kids on our team to have a chance to experience such a great trip. It really benefits both schools because it is at a time of year that will garner more national attention."
UNLV is 4-10 all-time vs. the Rainbows and the two programs both were members of the Western Athletic Conference from 1996-98. The most recent meeting of the schools came on Sept. 20, 1997, when UNLV prevailed 25-15 at Sam Boyd Stadium. UNLV's last trip to Aloha Stadium came on Oct. 10, 1996, when UH earned a 38-28 victory.
The Rebels, who will have seven away dates this fall, have played a regular-season game during December only twice: Dec. 1, 1984, vs. SMU at home and Dec. 2, 1978, vs. Brigham Young in Yokohama, Japan.
Hawaii, which is coming off a 9-4 record that included an Oahu Bowl title, will return the game on Sept. 20, 2003, because the Rebels needed another opponent to come to Las Vegas that season. "There is a large Hawaiian population in Las Vegas so it is a natural for the two programs to play each other," Robinson said.
REVISED 2000 UNLV FOOTBALL SCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT TIMESept. 2 OPENSept. 9 at Iowa StateSept. 16 NORTH TEXAS 7 pm PDTSept. 23 at BYU*Sept. 30 AIR FORCE* 7 pm PDTOct. 7 NEVADA, RENO# 7 pm PDTOct. 14 at Colorado State*Oct. 21 WYOMING* (HC) 4 pm PDTOct. 28 at MississippiNov. 4 at Utah*Nov. 11 NEW MEXICO* 1 pm PSTNov. 18 OPENNov. 25 at San Diego State*Dec. 2 at Hawaii
*Mountain West Conference Game(HC) HomecomingCALL (702) 895-UNLV for all ticket information#Hall of Fame Weekend - Induction Ceremonies Oct. 6
