SDSU Negotiates to Play UNLV in Basketball

San Diego State is close to reaching an agreement for a four-year, home-and-home basketball series with Nevada Las Vegas, said SDSU associate athletic director John Wadas Saturday.

The Aztecs hope to close the deal this week.

“Everything is pretty well ironed out and cemented,” Wadas said. “We’re waiting on the fine-print details.”

The Aztecs probably will play at UNLV this fall, either in late November or late December.

Because of the planned construction of the SDSU student-activities center, there is a chance that SDSU would then play host to the Rebels for two consecutive seasons before returning to Las Vegas in the 1994-95 season. SDSU officials are hoping to have the new on-campus arena ready for the 1993-94 season, and they would like to bring in UNLV in the arena’s inaugural season.

SDSU has been talking with UNLV in relation to basketball scheduling for several years, hoping to help pave UNLV’s way into the Western Athletic Conference. Now that the WAC has added Fresno State and further expansion is unlikely for now, Wadas said the Aztecs are interested in UNLV because the Rebels are a marquee, west-coast team.

“They’re a draw,” Wadas said. “Competitively, we think we’re getting close in basketball to competing with teams of this nature. The only way to beat schools like this is to play them.

“It will help recruiting, too.”