Jan. 16, 2001

LAS VEGAS - UNLV's football team, which is coming off an 8-5 season that included a convincing Las Vegas Bowl victory over Arkansas, has made its way into two early 2001 season rankings on national websites.

Although the Rebels have never been ranked in either of the major polls, head coach John Robinson's squad appears at No. 19 in CNNSI.com's preseason list. The only other Mountain West Conference team to appear was No. 23 Colorado State. Northwestern, which will face UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium in the Rebels' home opener on Sept. 8, was ranked 20th.

Also, UNLV was ranked No. 23 by CBS Sportsline.com in what was labeled a "Pre-Spring Preseason Top 25." Defending conference champion CSU ranked 17th on that list.

UNLV, which last fall went undefeated and untied at home for the first time since 1977, received one vote in the final AP rankings. The team's spring practice will run from March 20 to April 12 at Rebel Park and UNLV opens its third season under Robinson with a rematch vs. Arkansas on Sept. 1 in Little Rock.