Knight receives national honor

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002 | 10:05 a.m.

UNLV men's golf head coach Dwaine Knight has been voted to the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame, the organization announced Wednesday.

Knight and Arizona's Rick LaRose make up the hall's 2003 class and will become the 70th and 71st inductees at the GCAA National Awards Dinner at the Sheraton World Resort in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 22, 2003.

Knight also will become the first UNLV coach bestowed with hall of fame honors.

"I think it's a wonderful honor and I'm very humbled by the fact that I'm going to be in there with people who really developed the game at the college level," Knight said upon returning from Hawaii, where the Rebels won the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate on Tuesday.

"There were a lot of great choices and I feel very fortunate to be among this year's selections."

A two-time national coach of the year, Knight came to UNLV in 1987 after spending nine seasons as head coach at New Mexico. Since arriving in Las Vegas, he has taken the Rebel program to unprecedented heights, including the NCAA national championship in 1998.

"(This honor) is a real reflection on the community and the players that have played here," Knight said. "They are the ones who have put in the work and presented the opportunity for UNLV to compete at the highest level."

Such as this year. The Rebels, ranked No. 2 in the nation, have competed in four tournaments and have finished in the top four at all four.

In his 16th year at UNLV, Knight has earned coach of the year honors four times at the conference level and three times within his district, and has coached 30 All-Americans.