Aug. 15, 2001

LAS VEGAS - UNLV's football game at the University of Arizona will be shown live locally by the school, which means all 11 Rebel games this season could be televised for the first time in history, ESPN Regional at UNLV announced Wednesday.

The game, which is scheduled for Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. PDT, will be shown on KFBT Gold 33 through a split feed from Fox Sports Arizona, but will feature an announcing team chosen by ESPN Regional.

"We think the historic first meeting between UNLV and Arizona is a must to be shown in Las Vegas for those who can't make the trip down to Tucson," ESPN Regional at UNLV General Manager Tina Kunzer-Murphy said. "It's an attractive game for two neighboring state universities and means the final piece in the UNLV TV puzzle is now in place."

Under Head Coach John Robinson, the UNLV program's stunning progress is not limited to the field. After the Rebels appeared on live TV in Las Vegas a record four times in 1999, the program saw 11 of its 13 games picked up for broadcast last season through various outlets, including the nationally televised Las Vegas Bowl. This season's first three games will be shown on ESPN while two more were selected for ABC regional broadcasts. Regional broadcaster SportsWest will show from two to four games on KLAS and Las Vegas One while ESPN+Plus has designated three Rebel games as possible selections for its weekly MWC Game of the Week package, which is shown locally by KFBT (Cable 6). Only one UNLV game - vs. Utah on Nov. 3 - is not guaranteed to be televised because it is one of two eligible on that day to be broadcast by ESPN+Plus.

More proof of UNLV's continuing ascension comes from the radio side where, for the fourth consecutive season, all 11 Rebel football games will be heard live on flagship station ESPN 920 AM. However, for the first time the Rebel football and men's basketball games will be heard on a regional network of stations. ESPN Regional at UNLV and Lotus Broadcasting have teamed up with PV Radio and KZBZ Radio to help create the first-ever UNLV Sports Network, a seven-station grouping that will reach across the state and into parts of Arizona, California and Utah.

Joining the school's broadcast team this season is Tim Neverett, who will serve as the squad's play-by-play voice. Neverett also will co-host the weekly "John Robinson Radio Show" with the head coach and Rebels broadcast partner, color analyst Tony Cordasco. Also joining the crew this season is former Rebel receiving great Len Ware, who will serve as the school's first-ever sideline reporter for home football games.

The coach's radio program will originate this fall from a new venue - the ESPN Zone located in New York, New York hotel on the Strip. Beginning Sept. 5, the show will be heard live from 7 to 8 p.m. each Thursday except for the season's first two weeks when the program moves up one day to Wednesday.

Robinson's weekly television program returns to KLAS TV-8, which marks the seventh consecutive season the CBS affiliate will carry the school's coach's show. Co-hosted by Dave McCann, "Gametime with UNLV Football," moves to 5:30 p.m. every Sunday beginning Sept. 2. For the first time, the show will then be repeated each Sunday at 9 p.m. on sister station Las Vegas One.

UNLV 2001 SCHEDULE
DATE     OPPONENT    TIME#          TVAug. 30  at Arkansas     4:30 pm PDT    ESPNSept. 7  NORTHWESTERN    5 pm PDT   ESPNSept. 14 COLORADO ST.*   5 pm PDT   ESPNSept. 22 at Arizona  7:00 PDT   ESPN Regional @ UNLV (KFBT)Sept. 29 BYU*            4 pm PDT   ABCOct. 6   at Nevada, Reno 1 pm PDT   SportsWest (KLAS)Oct. 13  SAN DIEGO ST.   4 pm PDT   ABCOct. 20  OFFOct. 27  at Wyoming*     TBA            ESPN+Plus or SportsWest (KLAS)Nov. 3   UTAH*           1 pm PDT   ESPN+Plus (KFBT)%Nov. 10  at New Mexico*  4 pm PDT   SportsWest (KLAS)Nov. 17  at Air Force*   TBA            ESPN+Plus or SportsWest (LV One)
#Subject to change     *Mountain West Conference Game    %Tentative

UNLV SPORTS RADIO NETWORK
LOCATION                    FREQUENCYLas Vegas (Network Flagship)    920 AMParhump, NV                 95.9 FMAmargosa Valley, NV         96.7 FMBeatty, NV                  93.5 FMScotty's Junction, NV           94.3 FMDeath Valley, CA            91.1 FMPioche, NV                  98.9 FM(Lincoln County and most of Southern Utah)