March 15, 2005

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's golf team has been ranked the ninth-best college golf program over the last 20 years by Sports Illustrated in a feature that appeared on the internet at SI.com.

The publication studied college golf programs over the last 20 years and looked at a number of variables to come up with the rankings. It looked at number of national titles won, number of first-team All-Americans, names that have come out of the program and success the program has shown at the NCAA Championships over the last five years.

Oklahoma State took the top spot on the list, followed by Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Texas rounded out the top five. Florida was sixth, followed by Arizona, Wake Forest and UNLV was No. 9.

Programs that just missed the cut were listed as Georgia, North Carolina, Washington and Oklahoma.

For the UNLV program, the publication wrote: "Despite minimal success at the NCAA Championships the past five years, the Rebels' program is on the rise. It always helps when you have the best collegiate golfer in the game - Ryan Moore. With a national title, a runner-up finish and two NCAA Medalists, UNLV should find its way into the Top 10 within a few months."

It also listed UNLV's notable golfers as Chris Riley, Chad Campbell, Adam Scott and Skip Kendall.

The feature was written by Scott Wraight and first appeared on Feb. 23.