March 1, 2006
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV football team will enjoy six home dates for the first time in three years and close with a special holiday game, as the Mountain West Conference released its 2006 schedule Wednesday.
Season tickets are now on sale by calling (702) 739-FANS. Prices for the six-game home package are $80 in the end zone and $155 for sideline seating. Premium seating requires an additional Rebel Athletic Fund donation. All kickoff times are to be determined. Individual tickets will not go on sale until July.
Seven of UNLV's 12 opponents in 2006 were bowl-eligible a year ago and the Rebels will play six of those teams in consecutive weeks.
"No question, I am excited about this schedule," second-year head coach Mike Sanford said. "There are a lot of positives as far as playing the traditional cold-weather teams early and then ending with two home games. We had a tough hurdle to overcome last year with only one home game out of the first five, so we are happy to see a more traditional lineup for 2006."
UNLV will open its 35th season playing at Sam Boyd Stadium on Sept. 2 when it welcomes Idaho State. It will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Rebels and the Big Sky Conference member, but the first since 1984. UNLV hits the road one week later to renew a series with Iowa State from the Big 12 Conference on Sept. 9. The Cyclones have won all three previous meetings between the schools with the most recent coming in 2000.
On Sept. 16, the Rebels travel to Hawaii for the first time since clinching a Las Vegas Bowl bid on the Islands in 2000. UNLV will play the Warriors for the 17th time in history with the most recent game a Rebel home victory in 2003.
After an open week, the Rebels return home for the 32nd Battle for the Fremont Cannon vs. Nevada, Reno on Sept. 30. The Wolf Pack broke UNLV's five-game winning streak in the series a year ago to take a 16-15 all-time edge.
The Rebels open MWC play the following week on Oct. 7 with a trip to Colorado State before returning to Sam Boyd to play New Mexico on Oct. 14. UNLV then makes back-to-back trips to the Beehive State starting with a game at BYU on Oct. 21. UNLV is 3-3 all-time at LaVell Edwards Stadium, including two straight over the Cougars in Provo. Utah is next up on Oct. 28 when the Rebels will be looking for their first-ever win in Salt Lake City.
For the second consecutive fall, UNLV will close the regular season with three home games in the last four weeks. On Nov. 4, defending champion TCU returns to Las Vegas for the first time since both teams were members of the Western Athletic Conference in 1998. The Rebels then head to San Diego State on Nov. 11 before hosting Wyoming on Nov. 18. The regular season ends on Friday, Nov. 24, when Air Force comes to town to play the day after Thanksgiving. The game marks the second-straight year the Rebels close at home after five-straight seasons finishing on the road. UNLV is 5-1-1 all-time in games played on Friday.
"There definitely is a tough stretch in conference play going against Colorado State, New Mexico, BYU, Utah and TCU in consecutive weeks, three of which will be on the road," Sanford said. "But we are looking forward to the battles in what should be another highly competitive conference race."
2006 UNLV FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT SITESept. 2 IDAHO STATE LAS VEGASSept. 9 at Iowa State Ames, IASept. 16 at Hawaii Honolulu, HISept. 23 OPENSept. 30 NEVADA, RENO LAS VEGASOct. 7 at Colorado State* Fort Collins, COOct. 14 NEW MEXICO* LAS VEGASOct. 21 at BYU* Provo, UTOct. 28 at Utah* Salt Lake City, UTNov. 4 TCU* LAS VEGASNov. 11 at San Diego State* San DiegoNov. 18 WYOMING* LAS VEGASNov. 24 AIR FORCE* LAS VEGAS
*Mountain West Conference Game2006 UNLV FOOTBALL SEASON TICKET PRICESEnd Zone $80Sidelines $155
