(01-24-2023 09:39 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(01-23-2023 08:29 PM)johnintx Wrote:  

(01-23-2023 08:11 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  If this were 1991, I'd see it. Then again, they didn't have Allegiant Stadium back then but I don't see it now.

That's the deal. If they still had a championship-level hoops program, it could have dragged the football program with it as Las Vegas grew.

Now, they have a metro area of 2 million. They have a NFL stadium, and Thomas & Mack is still a good college arena. But, they compete with the NFL, the NHL, possibly MLB (if the A's move there), and all of the things Las Vegas has to offer.

I don't see it, either.

UNLV's actual athletic performance has certainly been an anchor on its conference realignment prospects.

However, the Las Vegas market is, without question, the single biggest positive to UNLV and can't be discounted.

I've never understood the "pro competition" critique for college programs. Once again, I'm from the Midwest where we manage to watch both the Big Ten (or Notre Dame if that's your thing) AND the NFL and other pro sports at the very highest levels without any pro/college fan divide. Elsewhere, the most valuable college sports program (Texas) directly overlaps with the fan base of the most valuable NFL team (Dallas Cowboys).

The point is that any market that has any value at all HAS pro sports and other entertainment options. The two largest markets that currently aren't legitimately covered by at least one P5 school (e.g. a flagship with a broad enough fan base can deliver a market even if that flagship isn't directly in that market) are San Diego and Las Vegas. If UNLV were even halfway competent in football, they would be in a P5 league already because the number of markets of any value that don't already have P5 competition is truly only down to them and San Diego.

You make good points Frank except we're talking about a G5 pro sports market, one in a transient area. Trust me, as a UH fan you don't exist in a pro sports market pretty much unless you're in the Big Boys club. Vegas is a very touristy area but no one in Vegas on vacation is gonna say "ooo, let's go watch UNLV football," unless they're playing a name brand/ranked team.

Can you even name a G5 school with solid attendance in a pro sports market? Buffalo, Charlotte, Rice, EMU, Tulane, Temple, SDSU (when the Chargers we're there), SJSU, South Florida, FAU and FIU all either have poor have or had poor attendance.