Rebels football team to play home-and-home with Vandy

UNLV’S football team will play another Power Five school, but this time the Rebels will get a return trip.

They agreed to a home-and-home with Southeastern Conference member Vanderbilt and will visit the Commodores on Oct. 12, 2019. Vanderbilt will play in Las Vegas on Sept. 16, 2023, in what probably will be the new stadium shared with the Raiders.

Vanderbilt will be the second SEC team to play UNLV in Las Vegas. The Rebels beat Arkansas 31-14 in the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl.

UNLV has never played Vanderbilt.

“We are delighted to add Vanderbilt to our future schedule,” UNLV athletic director Desiree Reed-francois said in a statement. “Signing a homeand-home series with an SEC team shows how bright the future is for our program. Las Vegas is a world-class city, and we look forward to hosting the Commodores and other fan bases from major programs in the coming years.”

UNLV also announced it will open the 2019 season Aug. 31 against Southern Utah at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Rebels are 3-1 against Southern Utah, but the Thunderbirds won the most recent meeting 41-16 in 2011.

Adding Vanderbilt and Southern Utah completes the 2019 nonconference schedule. The Rebels also will host Arkansas State on Sept. 7 and visit Northwestern on Sept. 14.

Getting a home-and-home with Vanderbilt bucks the recent trend of playing Power Five teams largely for the payday. The Rebels are playing games the next three seasons that each will bring in more than $1 million.

In other UNLV news, Jarick Caldwell, a wide receiver/ tight end from Chandler, Arizona, committed to UNLV. Caldwell (6 feet 3 inches, 200 pounds) is a three-star prospect, according to Scout.com.

“… I would like to thank all the coaches that gave me an opportunity to play at the next level with scholarship offers,” Caldwell tweeted. “after long discussions with my parents I have decided to commit to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.”

UNR and Fresno State were among the other schools who offered Caldwell scholarships, according to 247Sports.com. He caught 26 passes for 484 yards and four touchdowns last season at Chandler High School.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @ markanderson65 on Twitter.