April 6, 2006

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV football team will spend 12 days of its August preseason camp practicing in Ely, Nev., head coach Mike Sanford announced Thursday.

After reporting on August 6 and spending five days working out at Rebel Park, the team will make the 215-mile trek north on August 11 and train at Ely's municipal fields at Broadbent Park until returning home on August 23.

The Rebels will then complete preseason drills on campus leading up to the first day of school on August 28. UNLV's season-opener is September 2 vs. Idaho State at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"This will be a great opportunity for our program for multiple reasons," Sanford said. "Foremost, it will be a team-building experience, bringing the group closer together. Also, with Ely's average high temperature at that time of year being around 85 degrees, we'll get to use a normal practice schedule during the day. And with Ely being at a high altitude (more than 6,000 feet above sea level), it will get us into better shape while also helping us prepare to play in similar altitudes at places we are traveling to this season such as Utah, BYU and Colorado State."

The trip to Ely will mark the first time UNLV football has trained outside of Las Vegas since spending both the 1997 and '98 preseasons in Mesquite, Nev., at Virgin Valley High School.