List of UNLV Rebels head football coaches
The UNLV Rebels college football team represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in the Mountain West Conference (MW). The Rebels compete as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 14 head coaches and oneinterim head coach since it began play during the 1968 season. Since December 2024, Dan Mullen has served as head coach at UNLV.[1]
Seven coaches have led UNLV in playoff or postseason bowl games: Tony Knap, Harvey Hyde, Jeff Horton, John Robinson, Bobby Hauck, Barry Odom, and Del Alexander. Two of those coaches also won conference championships: Hyde captured one as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association; and Horton captured one as a member of the Big West Conference.
Knap and Robinson are the leaders in seasons coached with six years as head coach each. Knap is the leader in games won with 47. Ron Meyer has the highest winning percentage at 0.771. Hyde has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.185. Of the 13 different head coaches who have led the Rebels, Robinson has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
[edit]| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason[A 1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches[A 2] | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties[A 3] | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage[A 4] | ||||
Coaches
[edit]| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Ireland | 1968–1972 | 50 | 26 | 23 | 1 | 0.530 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Ron Meyer | 1973–1975 | 35 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 0.771 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Tony Knap | 1976–1981 | 69 | 47 | 20 | 2 | 0.696 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 4 | Harvey Hyde [A 6] |
1982–1985 | 46 | 8 | 37 | 1 | 0.185 | 5 | 19 | 1 | 0.220 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | — |
| 5 | Wayne Nunnely | 1986–1989 | 44 | 19 | 25 | 0 | 0.432 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 0.464 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 6 | Jim Strong | 1990–1993 | 44 | 17 | 27 | 0 | 0.386 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 0.385 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| 7 | Jeff Horton | 1994–1998 | 57 | 13 | 44 | 0 | 0.228 | 9 | 30 | 0 | 0.231 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — |
| 8 | John Robinson† | 1999–2004 | 70 | 28 | 42 | — | 0.400 | 14 | 28 | — | 0.333 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 9 | Mike Sanford Sr. | 2005–2009 | 59 | 16 | 43 | — | 0.271 | 8 | 32 | — | 0.200 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 10 | Bobby Hauck | 2010–2014 | 64 | 15 | 49 | — | 0.234 | 11 | 28 | — | 0.282 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 11 | Tony Sanchez | 2015–2019 | 60 | 20 | 40 | — | 0.333 | 13 | 27 | — | 0.325 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 12 | Marcus Arroyo | 2020–2022 | 30 | 7 | 23 | — | 0.233 | 5 | 17 | — | 0.227 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| 13 | Barry Odom | 2023–2024 | 27 | 19 | 8 | — | 0.704 | 12 | 3 | — | 0.800 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Int. | Del Alexander [A 7] |
2024 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 14 | Dan Mullen | 2025–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes
[edit]- ^ Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.[2]
- ^ A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- ^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[3]
- ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[4]
- ^ Statistics correct as of the end of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
- ^ The 1983 and 1984 seasons, including the 1984 California Bowl, forfeited due to ineligible players. The on-field record for 1983 was 7–4 (4–2 PCAA); 1984 was 11–2 (7–0 PCAA).
- ^ Del Alexander was named interim head coach for the 2024 LA Bowl, following the departure of Barry Odom as head coach.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "ESPN analyst Dan Mullen named UNLV's head football coach". ESPN.com. December 12, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- ^ Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ^ "Del Alexander to remain in Vegas as UNLV wide receivers coach". SI.com. December 30, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2025.