UNLV Hockey Pushing For D1 Status

This has been an incredible season for the UNLV Rebels hockey program and they are now making a push to become a Division 1 program. If they are able to make that jump they'd be just the fourth ACHA program to accomplish the feat joining Pen State, Arizona State, and Lindenwood. Despite being a club team, what the UNLV hockey squad has managed to pull of this season can't be ignored. Not only did they wrangle star student-athlete Mattias Dal Monte, a stud that most thought would be heading to a D-1 program, through the transfer portal, but they also shockingly upset NCAA Champion Denver on the road in a shoot-out.

The program is operating with a budget of over $700,000 which is more than multiple other sports the school runs that are official NCAA teams. This includes their tennis and golf teams. One of the reasons they been able to be successful both monetarily and on the ice is due to the massive support from the NHL's Las Vegas Golden Knights. They have even provided a home ice for the Rebels at City National Arena in Summerlin, Nevada.  

Their new star Dal Monte came to UNLV with the intentions of leading this program to the next level and becoming a Division 1 team. He made this clear when he said, “If we have a historic year and win a national championship, it’s going to set in motion the steps to get this program to Division I... For me, and I know the other guys feel the same way, that’s such a cool part of this... I know 10 years from now, I’m going to look back, this program is going to be Division I, and I’m going to be one of the guys that got to play on one of those founding teams.”  

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