Jan. 27, 2001

LAS VEGAS - UNLV football's 2001 home opener will be played one day earlier, on Friday, Sept. 7, so it can be televised live by ESPN, the school announced Saturday. The time of the game is still to be determined.

The Rebels' second-ever meeting with Northwestern will be UNLV's first appearance on ESPN in seven years. The last time the Rebels were on ESPN was a 52-24 Las Vegas Bowl victory over Central Michigan on Dec. 15, 1994. The Wildcats will be only the second Big Ten Conference team to play at Sam Boyd Stadium, joining Wisconsin (1986 and 1996).

Last season, UNLV twice appeared on ESPN2 and had a school-record 11 of its 13 games broadcast overall, including a home date on ABC. The 2000 Rebels also appeared three times on the ESPN+Plus Mountain West Conference Game of the Week.

The last time the school played a non-Saturday date during the regular season was a Thursday game in the 1999 season opener at North Texas, which was not televised nationally.

UNLV, which is coming off an 8-5 season that included a Las Vegas Bowl victory over Arkansas, will also host league teams Colorado State, BYU, Utah and San Diego State this fall. Season tickets are now on sale for head coach John Robinson's third season at the school by calling (702) 895-UNLV.