UNLV Football: Will gambling law and NFL fix Rebels?

UNLV football hasn’t had a strong past few years, but will the new gambling laws and the NFL help save the Rebels?

UNLV football has suffered through long windows of time without finding sustained success. The Rebels joined the Big West Conference in 1988 and have only managed winning seasons in 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2013 since aligning with the league.

While the Rebels have managed only four winning seasons in 30 years, they’ve suffered through a winless 1998 and a one-win season in 1996. Even legendary USC Trojans and Los Angeles Rams coach John Robinson couldn’t maintain success finishing 8-5 in 2000 and 6-6 in 2003 but leaving Las Vegas with a 28-42 overall record.

In 2017, the Rebels finished with a 5-7 record in Tony Sanchez’s third season at the helm. Coach Sanchez came to UNLV from nearby Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. Bishop Gorman has been a national powerhouse producing talents like quarterbacks Tate Martell and Dorian Thompson-Robinson of Ohio State and UCLA, respectively. This connection gave Sanchez a recruiting edge since his brother, Kenny, is the current head coach at Gorman and has guided the Gales to USA Today national championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Will the improved local high school landscape, new gambling laws and the Raiders move to Las Vegas help the Rebels?