Sept. 13, 2004
LAS VEGAS - Before Saturday's home-opening football game between UNLV and Air Force, senior defensive back Jamaal Brimmer will become this year's recipient of the Tom Wiesner Award and will have the honor of wearing the Wiesner Jersey throughout the season.
Brimmer, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound safety who graduated from Las Vegas' Durango High School, is a quiet field leader known for his intense work ethic and team-first attitude. The 2003 First Team All-American briefly toyed with the idea of becoming the first UNLV football player to leave early for the NFL Draft but instead returned for his final season this fall and is scheduled to graduate next spring with a double major in communications and sociology. The first All-American to return to UNLV for another season since Randall Cunningham in 1984, Jamaal is the son of Jimmy and Pamela Brimmer.
"Jamaal is one of those people who leads by example in all facets of being a student-athlete," UNLV Head Coach John Robinson said. "He is one of the elite defensive players in the nation and one of the most respected men we've had in this program."
The award, which debuted in 2002 and is voted on by the each year's senior class, was created to honor one senior player that best exemplifies the late Mr. Wiesner's courage, enthusiasm, dedication and toughness. The first two jerseys went to Rebel offensive linemen, inaugural winner Tony Terrell and 2003 winner Dominic Furio, who is now with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.
A Wisconsin native and three-time letterman on the Badger football team, Mr. Wiesner sought his fortune out West and became one of the Las Vegas' leading businessmen, philanthropists, politicians and ambassadors.
The founder of the highly successful restaurants that are part of Big Dog's Hospitality Group, Wiesner helped guide Rebel Athletics from their infancy and was inducted into the UNLV Athletic Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Contributor in 1994. Also a member of the Nevada Board of Regents, Wiesner died in 2002 at the age of 63 after a battle with Leukemia.
The Rebels will kick off their home season by taking on the Falcons beginning at 7 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium. Tickets are available now by calling (702) 739-FANS.
