For the longest time, the UNLV Rebels were widely considered an afterthought in the landscape of college football.
Since the turn of the century, UNLV had only recorded three years at a .500 winning percentage or better prior to 2023. While there was plenty of talent that emerged during that period, it never resulted in sustained team success. The lowlights were too numerous to ignore, chiefly a 2017 loss as a 45-point favorite against FCS Howard and going winless in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
However, that has changed in 2023, as UNLV made the emergence into one of the powerhouses of the Group of Six. This is especially true over the last couple of years, as 2025 marked the first time the Rebels completed consecutive seasons with double-digit wins. UNLV has also tied for the highest among all Group of Six teams (James Madison and Boise State) with 21 wins over the past two years.
Players like running back Jai’Den Thomas and offensive lineman Austin Boyd have witnessed the shift in culture firsthand, joining UNLV in 2023 with minimal expectations and now in their senior seasons expected to compete once again for conference championships and a College Football Playoff bid.
“It’s just instill it from Day One when they come in,” said Boyd when the UNLV players spoke on Wednesday during the Mountain West Media Days.
“Whether they’re early grads, or that came in last month or in the summer, it’s just instilling that work ethic, the standard that we have on how we do things around here.”
“When they first come in, show them how to do it and why we’re doing it, which is very important,” Thomas added.
Despite seeing a coaching change from Barry Odom to Dan Mullen in 2025, the standard has not slipped, and players have bought into the vision of UNLV as one of the premier players in college football outside of the power conferences. With 29 lettermen and seven starters returning this season compared to only 17 and two last year, the Rebels are beginning to take shape and hoping to continue this newfound consistency.
“I think we built a good foundation last year within the program, and created a culture within the program last year,” said Mullen. “We have enough guys coming back that all these new guys walking in the door, and that culture is in place day one. If there’s something that’s the biggest thing for me, it’s that culture in place day one when these new guys come in.”
In an era of college football that sees the transfer portal and NIL tear teams apart and force programs to put themselves back together, Mullen and UNLV have done an excellent job turning Las Vegas into a place where players want to head to. The answers Mullen and the players gave, while somewhat different, merge together to create a recipe that helps players not only choose UNLV, but make them willing to settle in for the long haul.
“What I realized what people from Las Vegas know, people outside of Las Vegas don’t understand, that the city is ninety percent the city and ten percent The Strip. The majority of people think it’s ninety percent The Strip and ten percent the city,” Mullen mentioned about Las Vegas. “Once I learned about the community and what a great place it is to live, and you have everything at your fingertips. I can be at every top restaurant, every show, it’s all right there at your fingertips.”
That mentality has bled into the locker room, made manifest through one of the pillars of the team: togetherness.
“I think we do everything,” said Boyd about team bonding between the Rebels. “We got guys who are golfing during the weekends, everyone’s on the game playing NCAA or whatever it is, going out to eat. A lot of guys, you’re going to be close to your position group, but everyone’s really close just in general outside of the position group. Everyone’s getting together doing something.”
That togetherness of the field has allowed for easier connection on the field as well. Whether it be someone like Lucas Conti, a defensive tackle who signed on at UNLV who finally got his opportunity to shine in 2025, or a transfer last season in defensive back Mumu Bin-Wahad, the culture has resonated with the leaders of the locker room and, in turn, has inspired them to carry that success to the next generation of Rebels coming in.
“Just trying to keep the guys together, whether that’s on or off the field, just trying to make sure we’re all locked arms and all on the same page,” said Bin-Wahad about doing his part on the secondary.
“We usually do stuff on our off days. I would do a walkthrough with the linebackers or even just hang out at someone’s house and just chill by the pool. Anything to build that relationship and build that bond so we can lock arms come fall time.”
“I would say just getting everyone intellectually up to speed,” said Conti about his leadership role on the defensive line. “There’s so many changes: players change, plays change day to day, almost. Honestly, it hasn’t been much of an effort. It’s not that hard to get them up to speed physically because we got some really talented young guys.”
The willingness of players to contribute to both on-field preparation and off-field bonding speaks volumes about the new culture in place in Las Vegas, and the ones who have paved the way for this to become possible are now tasked with leaving it in a state where the next group can step in and keep UNLV steady at the top.