May 12, 2004
LAS VEGAS - UNLV has agreed to move its 2004 season-opening football game at Tennessee one day to Sunday, Sept. 5, the school announced Wednesday.
The game, which is set to kick off just after 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. in Knoxville), will be shown nationally by ESPN2. The Sunday evening slot is usually highlighted by NFL games but this season the professional league will not open play until a week later.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to play a quality program such as Tennessee in a fantastic atmosphere on national television," UNLV director of athletics Mike Hamrick said. "With no other football games scheduled in that window, all eyes will be on the Rebels taking on the Volunteers. I think that is a reflection of not only Tennessee but also speaks to the quality of our program and the job that (head coach) John Robinson and his staff have done here."
The date change, however, will make for a shorter week in preparing for UNLV's next game at Wisconsin on Sept. 11.
"Certainly there is good and bad to it," Robinson said. "It's an unusual situation that will make it more difficult to prepare for our second game. Playing in the East on a Sunday and having to go almost as far the next week makes the challenge even more acute. But it is also a great opportunity for positive national exposure for our players and our school."
While the Rebels have played on Thursday and Friday with increasing regularity since the Mountain West Conference was formed in 1999, they will be playing their first-ever Sunday game.
Last year, UNLV opened its season on a Friday by downing Toledo on ESPN. As previously announced, UNLV will play its seventh-ever Friday game this fall at league-rival BYU on Oct. 8, also to be shown by ESPN2. Counting the upcoming UT and BYU games, UNLV will have appeared on ESPN or ESPN2 eight times since John Robinson arrived compared to just six appearances all-time previous to his hiring in 1999.
UNLV and Tennessee have only met once previously when the then-No. 2 Volunteers won 62-3 in Knoxville before 106,212 fans. UT has previously played Sunday games in the 1981 Garden State Bowl and the 1987 and '90 Kickoff Classics, but this season will mark its first such game at home.
The Rebels open their home schedule on Saturday, Sept. 18 when they host Air Force. UNLV football season tickets are on sale now by calling (702) 739-FANS.
