By Rob Miech · April 27, 2009 · 2:54 PM

UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick might get into the garage-sale business.

Two weekends ago, the school held its first clearance sale of athletic apparel and equipment, and Hamrick said Monday it netted $50,000.

The athletic department received a nice windfall for its summer-school program.

“We put all of that into scholarships for our student-athletes for summer school,” Hamrick said. “That gives a lot of our athletes opportunities to stay here for the summer, go to school and have it paid for, so they can get ahead and graduate.

“That’s why our grades have been so good. Summer school has paid off big time.”

Hamrick said the athletic department has received checks for specific gear after the huge sale, which was staged because all of UNLV’s sports teams have switched to Nike.

A 30-foot-high storage room in the back of the Lied Athletic Complex was stocked full of adidas, Russell, New Balance, and other name-brand apparel and equipment.

Hamrick said more than half of those items were sold. The rest will be held over, along with other accumulated gear, for another clearance sale in a couple of years.

“We were just trying to clear out some closets,” Hamrick said. “I think I’ll go into the yard-sale business.”