Camp Sanford

Wednesday, June 7, 2006 | 7:40 a.m.

For two weeks beginning Sunday, Mike Sanford's name will be on four football camps at UNLV, and the Rebels' assistant coaches will be working overtime as more than 600 campers descend on the university's practice field.

Unlike some coaches of major college football programs who stage similar camps, Sanford plans to be "very visible" at each of the sessions, which will attract campers from the first through 12th grades. But Sanford, beginning his second season as the Rebels' head coach, won't be lining his pockets from the tuition, which ranges from $20 to $330 per camper.

"I was an assistant coach for a long time, and assistant coaches aren't paid like head coaches," Sanford said. "Really, (the proceeds from these camps are) for the assistant coaches and the graduate assistant coaches, to help them supplement their income."

While he wouldn't be specific, Sanford said what his assistants earn from the camps amounts to a "nice vacation bonus."

But that's not to say that Sanford doesn't benefit from staging the camps. In addition to hosting 10 local teams during the Mike Sanford High School Camp, 80 of the top high school-age players from American Samoa are scheduled to take part in the five-day camp (Sunday through June 15), giving Sanford and his staff an opportunity to identify potential recruits.

"When they are all scrimmaging against each other, it's a great opportunity for us to evaluate kids," Sanford said. "They're on our campus, and we can talk to them. Other than the kids at Bishop Gorman, you're going to have the top players in Las Vegas, plus players from California and Arizona and Samoa."

While it makes sense to bring in high school players for the High School and Big Man camps and the Team Passing Tournament, Sanford said, there is a method to his apparent madness of holding a camp for children as young as 6 years old (the Mike Sanford Youth Camp).

"It's an opportunity for kids to learn football and be exposed to a college atmosphere," Sanford said. "We're also trying to build young people to become UNLV fans, and we feel like that's a way to do it."

As part of the Youth Camp, campers will receive a tour of UNLV - including academic and athletic facilities - and Sanford will have the opportunity to meet with the campers' parents.

"I'm real involved because it's a great opportunity for me to develop (relationships)," he said. "For our high school camp, the night practices in particular, the parents come out, and people in the community come out to watch. So it's a great opportunity for me to see them and meet them.

"There are a lot of positives to (the camps) so I'll be very visible in all of them. From a recruiting standpoint, we not only have the kids on our campus, we get the parents on our campus. I also want to develop a relationship with the (local) high school coaches."

Those relationships already may be paying dividends for Sanford's program. Former Las Vegas High standout Richie Plunkett will transfer to UNLV from Colorado State. Plunkett, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive lineman, is the son of Las Vegas High line coach and former NFL lineman Art Plunkett.