UNLV has extended its faith in athletic director Erick Harper.
The university on Tuesday announced a four-year contract extension for Harper, who has run the athletics department since Jan. 2022.
Prior to that, Harper was interim athletics director from August 2021 to the end of that calendar year after serving nine years as the school’s senior associate athletics director for development.
“UNLV is a special place, and I am grateful to Interim President (Chris) Heavey for his confidence and support,” Harper said. “The progress we have made is the result of the work of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, donors, alumni, fans, and campus partners. We will continue to focus on the student-athlete experience, academic success, fundraising, community engagement and competing for championships.”
Harper has hired 10 head coaches in his time at the helm of athletics and perhaps none have been as significant as those in football.
He first brought aboard Barry Odom three years ago, and the Rebels, once one of the worst programs nationally, responded with seasons of nine and 11 wins and consecutive spots in the Mountain West championship game.
Odom then departed for Purdue and Harper replaced him with Dan Mullen, whose first UNLV team last season went 10-4, advanced to another league final and played in the school’s third consecutive bowl game for the first time in history.
Football, ranked nationally for the first time in 2024, has seen season-ticket sales increase over 36 percent the past three years.
UNLV sports have captured 15 conference championships in Harper’s first four seasons, with 11 league coach of the year awards and multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.
The school’s “Rebel Up” campaign, a first of its kind for athletics in school history with a goal of $150 million, has generated more than $41 million in cash and cash equivalents.
In March 2025, regents questioned UNLV leadership on whether its actual athletics budget deficiency was north of $30 million or millions higher than the university reported in a 10-year financial analysis.
Some regents questioned how the school reported its financials and how it could pay down such a massive debt.
Harper previously worked at Arizona and Kansas State.
He was a four-year starter at defensive back for Kansas State, where he graduated in 1992.
Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
