Talks abouT sTadium replacemenT Tabled

about how far UNLV has to go, he won’t sell his current seniors or fans on a five-year plan.

“I understand it, but I don’t want to hear it,” he said. “As a head coach, that’s not what we want to do.”

So while building for the future is still the more realistic path in a rebuilding effort like UNLV faces, Sanchez and his staff are preparing for an alternate reality in which plugging in as many true freshmen as it takes — his first class comes to campus July 13 and many will have large roles — pays off in the record books.

Next year could offer more of the same opportunities early playing time for newcomers as the Rebels work to build depth. And one of many UNLV goals is for those players currently being evaluated to come into a situation where the program better appreciates and creates a homefield advantage.

When the Rebels, who ended their spring practices nine days ago, return for practice in August, a trip to Ely no longer awaits them.

Sanchez is getting rid of the team’s annual excursion north to open fall practices, preferring instead to test his team’s ability to endure the Las Vegas heat and potentially use it to his advantage against visiting opponents.

Part of the planned routine will be more practices in Sam Boyd Stadium, the Rebels’ home, where in the past they generally spent little time outside of game days. Sanchez hopes more visits will engender more attachment between the players and the field they’re trying to protect.

“That needs to be a place where they feel like ‘This is our house,’” Sanchez said.

And it’s going to stay their house, at least for a while. Talks about a new on-campus stadium, seemingly forever on the horizon, are currently tabled. Even at speeds not seen in matters involving this much money and politicking, a new one wouldn’t be ready for several years.

Perhapsanewstadiumdoesn’t sound all that interesting to a veteran who will never play in it, but it’s a universal truth that having a winning program to sell as a tenant doesn’t hurt in these matters. So whether he and his staff are selling a vision to the future Rebel or a legacy to the present one, Sanchez has an answer.

“Do they have a big say in whether it gets built?” Sanchez said. “Hell, yeah, they do. Let’s go.”