March 21, 2005

LAS VEGAS - UNLV and Hawaii have signed a deal to renew their non-conference football rivalry for two more games, UNLV Director of Athletics Mike Hamrick announced Monday.

The Rebels will travel to Honolulu to play on Sept. 16, 2006, while the Warriors will return to Las Vegas on Sept. 15, 2007.

"Everyone wins when we play a home-and-home series with the University of Hawaii," Hamrick said. "It is an exciting trip for our fans and players to make while also producing big crowds here at Sam Boyd Stadium."

The two programs first played each other in 1969, which was UNLV's second year of fielding a football team. The Warriors lead the all-time series 10-6 but the Rebels have won the last three meetings (1997, 2000 and 2003).

The most recent game, which UNLV won 33-22 before a national Friday night ESPN2 television audience, produced the third-largest home crowd in school history (34,287) on Sept. 19, 2003. In fact, three of the 15 biggest home crowds in Rebel history have come vs. UH.

UNLV football's last trip to the islands was a memorable one as the Rebels prevailed 34-32 to secure a bid to the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl.

"We all know about the Hawaii-Las Vegas connection," Hawaii Director of Athletics Herman Frazier said. "We are not only happy to have worked this out for our football program, but also our fans who love to make frequent trips to Las Vegas."