Rebels, Badgers renew contract

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, June 15, 2004 | 9:21 a.m.

Tentative future nonconference UNLV football schedules:

2005

Sept. 10 -- Idaho

Sept. 24 -- at Utah State

Oct. 1 -- at Nevada-Reno

2006

Sept. 9 -- at Iowa State

Oct. 7 -- Nevada-Reno

TBA (likely at Hawaii)

2007

Aug. 29 -- at Utah State

Sept. 8 -- Wisconsin

Sept. 15 -- Oregon State

Oct. 6 -- at Nevada-Reno

2008

Aug. 30 -- Utah State

Sept. 6 -- Minnesota

Sept. 13 -- at Arizona State

Sept. 20 -- Iowa State

Oct. 4 -- Nevada-Reno

2009

Sept. 12 -- at Minnesota

Oct . 3 -- at Nevada-Reno

TBA

2010

Sept. 4 -- at Wisconsin

Sept. 18 -- at Idaho

Oct. 2 -- Nevada-Reno

2011

Sept. 3 -- Wisconsin

TBA -- at Nevada-Reno

Former Wisconsin football star and Nevada Regent Tom Wiesner died in 2002. But his influence over Wisconsin and UNLV continues to live on.

Wiesner, a Wisconsin native and three-year letterman on the Badgers football team, was influential in helping to get UNLV and Wisconsin together on the football field over the years. Three of the five biggest UNLV home crowds in history have flocked to Sam Boyd Stadium to watch the Rebels host the perennial Big Ten power Badgers, including a state-record 42,075 fans in 2002.

So it seemed only natural that the two teams continue their series. And Rebels athletic director Mike Hamrick on Monday announced just that when he said the teams have agreed to a home-and-home series in 2010 in Madison and 2011 in Las Vegas.

"It's a great game for us," Hamrick said. "It goes back to the Tom Wiesner days. We enjoy going there to play and I think they enjoy coming out here to play, too. They're the type of program we want to compete against each year."

In fact, the Rebels will play the Badgers on Sept. 11 this year in Madison, the second consecutive season UNLV has traveled to Wisconsin to play Barry Alvarez's squad and the third consecutive season the teams have faced off. The Rebels scored arguably the biggest road win in school history last year at Camp Randall Stadium, 23-5, but still trail their series against Bucky Badger, 4-2.

Besides the two games announced on Monday, UNLV and Wisconsin had already been already signed to play in Las Vegas on Sept. 8, 2007.

UNLV also announced a home-and-home series with the latest Western Athletic Conference invitee, Idaho. The Vandals, who recently named former Rebels assistant Nick Holt as head coach, will play the Rebels at Sam Boyd Stadium on Sept. 10, 2005, and then are scheduled to host UNLV in Moscow, Idaho, in 2010.

With the NCAA cutting back seasons to 11 games except for 2008, 2013 and 2014, Hamrick said the Rebels are "just about filled out until 2010."

In fact, thanks to the Mountain West Conference's addition of TCU starting in 2005, the Rebels actually find themselves overbooked in both 2007 and 2008 unless the NCAA should rescind its 11-game limit, as been rumored.

"We're going to have to move some games," senior associate athletic director Jerry Koloskie said. "Right now I'm not sure which ones."

Clouding the situation even further is the fact the Rebels are working out details to host Hawaii in 2006 and then travel to Honolulu in 2008, a season the school is already overbooked. If UNLV travels to Hawaii as tentatively planned, the Rebels would be able to play an extra game that year because of the NCAA's Hawaii scheduling exemption.