Aug. 21, 2000

LAS VEGAS - UNLV's season opener at Iowa State officially has been picked up and will be produced by ESPN Regional at UNLV and be shown on KFBT Gold 33, the school announced.

The play-by-play announcer for the Sept. 9 clash with the Cyclones will be Ben Boyle of the Kansas State Wildcat Broadcast Network while former NFL Player JC Pearson will serve as analyst. Kick off time in Las Vegas is 11 a.m.

UNLV football will appear on television up to nine times this season, which would more than double the school-record four appearances in 1999.

The program is expected to enjoy its first-ever appearance on ESPN2 when the Rebels travel to San Diego State on Nov. 25. The last time UNLV appeared on any national television network was Las Vegas Bowl III - a 52-24 victory over Central Michigan on Dec. 15, 1994, which was seen live on ESPN. If the game is not selected by ESPN2, SportsWest Productions is expected to televise the game.

The 12-game schedule also includes a previously announced ABC regional date on Sept. 30 when the Rebels will host Air Force. Also, UNLV's game at BYU on Sept. 23 will appear on ESPN+Plus as part of the 23-station regional network game-of-the-week package, which will once again be carried locally by KFBT Gold 33.

Two other games, at Utah on Nov. 4 and vs. New Mexico on Nov. 11, are part of a designated pool that may be picked up by ESPN+Plus. SportsWest will show at least three games: vs. UNR Oct. 7, at Colorado State Oct. 14 and vs. Wyoming Oct. 21. SportsWest also is expected to produce the New Mexico game if it is not selected by ESPN+Plus.

2000 UNLV FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
DATE     OPPONENT    LV TIME        TV          STATION
Sept. 9  at Iowa State   11 am PDT  ESPN Regional at UNLV   KFBT TV-33Sept. 16 NORTH TEXAS     7 pm PDT   NoneSept. 23 at BYU*     12 pm PDT  ESPN+Plus           KFBT TV-33Sept. 30 AIR FORCE*  4 pm PDT   ABC                 KTNV TV-13Oct. 7   NEVADA, RENO%   7 pm PDT   SportsWest          TBAOct. 14  at Colorado St* 3 pm PDT   SportsWest          KLAS TV-8Oct. 21  WYOMING* (HC)   4 pm PDT   SportsWest          TBAOct. 28  at Mississippi  11 am PDT  NoneNov. 4   at Utah*    TBA            ESPN+Plus#          KFBT TV-33Nov. 11  NEW MEXICO*     TBA            ESPN+Plus#@         KFBT TV-33Nov. 25  at San Diego St*4 pm PST   ESPN2 or SportsWest TBADec. 2   at Hawaii   8 pm PST   None
*Mountain West Conference Game   % Hall of Fame Weekend (HC) Homecoming#One of two games eligible to be selected by ESPN+Plus12 days prior to contest@SportsWest if not selected by ESPN+Plus