LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV community is mourning the loss of former athletics administrator and faculty member Dr. Brad Rothermel who passed away Monday in Las Vegas at the age of 88.
 
A beloved figure in Rebel history, Rothermel served as the school's director of athletics for 10 years from 1981-1990 and steered UNLV to unprecedented success in every sport, most notably the men's basketball national championship won by legendary head coach Jerry Tarkanian in 1990.
 
During Rothermel's tenure, 14 varsity programs reached NCAA postseason play and Rebel teams won a total of 33 conference championships. That list included the 1984 football team, which won its first league title and bowl game under head coach Harvey Hyde. Rothermel also orchestrated the Runnin' Rebels' move from the Las Vegas Convention Center into the Thomas & Mack Center, which opened in 1983. He is credited with hiring two other Hall of Fame coaches who built powerhouse programs for the Scarlet & Gray -- Dwaine Knight, who would go on to win the 1998 NCAA men's golf championship, and Shan McDonald, who guided Rebel softball to three trips to the Women's College World Series.
 
After leaving his post as AD, Rothermel spent nine years as a UNLV associate professor of education leadership and then two seasons as chief executive of the professional basketball franchise the Las Vegas Bandits. He would rejoin the athletics department in 2004 as a special advisor to the athletics director before officially retiring in 2016.
 
"Southern Nevada has lost a giant from its athletics history," said UNLV Director of Athletics Erick Harper. "Brad Rothermel helped put the Rebels on the map in the world of sports and he was truly a gentleman in everything he did as a respected leader, educator and friend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Suzanne, and the entire Rothermel family."
 
Rothermel earned his bachelor's degree in education from Northern Illinois in 1960, received his master's from Illinois in 1961 and then his doctorate in 1965. He went on to work at Kansas State University and then West Virginia University before moving his family to Las Vegas. He was inducted into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.