UNLV planning to build a statue of Jerry Tarkanian

To me UNLV basketball will always be about Jerry Tarkanian. Even though he was thought to be a renegade, Tarkanian lifted the Runnin' Rebels to their greatest heights.

In 19 seasons at UNLV, Tarkanian won 509 games and led the program to four Final Four appearances and a national title in 1990. Tarkanian was finally elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame as a member of the 2013 class.

The school will make plans to build a statue of Tarkanian to honor the godfather of UNLV basketball.

UNLV will hold a press conference Wednesday to announce plans to construct a statue of former basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian outside of the Thomas & Mack Center, according to multiple sources.


Jim Ratigan, the executive director of the UNLV Alumni Association, confirmed the group is working on something for Tarkanian but added the specifics are still being worked out.

"We are spearheading an effort to work on a project honoring coach Tarkanian," Ratigan said. "We’re still working on all the details.”

The floor at the Thomas & Mack center, the Rebels' home court is named in his honor. The statue is long overdue as Tarkanian meant a lot to that program and the city.