July 11, 2000

LAS VEGAS - In conjunction with its annual media gathering, the Mountain West Conference will hold a Football Kickoff Luncheon in Las Vegas on Monday, July 31, that is open to the public.

The luncheon will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel, which is next to Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Strip. A reception starts at noon with lunch served at 12:30 p.m.

The event will be hosted by Rich Waltz of ESPN. All head coaches from the eight Mountain West Conference teams will speak as part of the program, including UNLV's John Robinson. The other coaches in attendance will be Fisher DeBerry of Air Force, LaVell Edwards of BYU, Sonny Lubick of Colorado State, Rocky Long of New Mexico, Ted Tollner of San Diego State, Ron McBride of Utah and rookie coach Vic Koenning of Wyoming.

Tickets are $55 per person or tables of 10 are available for $525. Reservations are being accepted until July 21 by sending a check payable to the Mountain West Conference, PO Box 35670, Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3576 or by calling (719) 533-9500.