Related content
The Pac-12 will move to eliminate non-conference football games for the upcoming 2020 season, according to reports, which would leave UNLV without two home opponents while creating a giant hole in the schedule for the home opener at Allegiant Stadium.
The Rebels are set to host Cal in the first game at brand-new Allegiant Stadium on Aug. 29, but the imminent Pac-12 ruling would wipe that contest off the schedule. UNLV would also lose its Sept. 12 home game against Arizona State, also set for Allegiant Stadium.
The Big Ten announced Thursday it will go to a conference-only schedule, and The Athletic broke the news that the Pac-12 is expected to follow suit. The Atlantic Coast conference is also eliminating non-conference games, according to Stadium.
Aside from its Pac-12 opponents, UNLV has two other non-conference games on the schedule: a home date against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 5, and a road game at Iowa State on Sept. 19. Due to a technical snafu by UNLV while negotiating the Allegiant Stadium joint-use agreement, the Louisiana Tech game is set to be played at Sam Boyd Stadium.
With the COVID-19 outbreak continuing to surge, it could only be a matter of time before the remainder of the non-conference schedule is canceled.
If the Mountain West were to institute a conference-only schedule, UNLV would open its slate at San Diego State on Oct. 3, then play its first home game on Oct. 10 against Wyoming. The contest against Wyoming would then become the Rebels’ first game inside Allegiant.
What the imminent cancelations could mean for UNLV:
Lost revenue
UNLV will undoubtedly take a big hit on the revenue front if it loses two home games at Allegiant Stadium (and one at Sam Boyd). Those games were expected to be highly attended; now UNLV will bring in no money for those dates and may actually be on the hook for ticket refunds.
For an athletic department that always has to be mindful of its budget, that is unwelcome news.
No shining moment
The opening of Allegiant Stadium was supposed to be a celebration for the Rebels. That first game in a brand-new home after 50 years in sub-par conditions at Sam Boyd Stadium, it was going to be a defining moment--the culmination of years of hard work. Now, the first game at Allegiant will still be a big deal, but it won’t feel like the triumph that it might have been under normal circumstances.
There’s another intangible factor as well. The Rebels were thrown a bone in that their home opener against Cal on Aug. 29 was set to be the first real game at Allegiant Stadium, giving UNLV the “debut” spotlight even before the Las Vegas Raiders. Instead, the non-conference cancelations mean the Raiders will come first, as they will for the next 30 years.
From UNLV’s perspective, that has to add a little insult to injury.
Future schedules
Canceling non-conference games for 2020 is going to impact how UNLV schedules in 2021, 2022 and years beyond.
The Iowa State and Arizona State games were part of two-game contracts, with the return dates to be played in 2021 (at ASU and hosting Iowa State), and the Rebels were set to go to Cal in 2022. Now some work will have to be done untangling the contracts and rescheduling those home-and-homes.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy