By Steve Carp Las Vegas Review-Journal

March 31, 2026 - 3:32 pm

Brad Rothermel, who oversaw UNLV’s greatest run of athletic success, including the 1990 national basketball championship, died Monday in Las Vegas.

He was 88.

Rothermel served as UNLV’s athletic director from 1981 to 1990. He remained at the school as an associate professor of education leadership for nine years. In 2004, he returned to athletics, serving as special adviser to then-athletic director Mike Hamrick. Rothermel remained in that position until March 2016.

During his athletic director tenure, UNLV captured 33 conference championships and each of the school’s 14 varsity sports reached NCAA postseason play.

The men’s basketball team reached the Final Four twice while Rothermel was in charge. In 1987, Jerry Tarkanian’s Runnin’ Rebels made it to New Orleans, where they lost to Indiana in the national semifinals. In 1990, UNLV won it all, defeating Georgia Tech in the semifinals before beating Duke 103-73 in the title game.

“It’s hard to comprehend how good Brad was,” Tarkanian said in 2009. “He had no ego, he was a hard worker and all he cared about was helping people.

“So many (athletic directors) right away answer, ‘No, we can’t do that.’ When you’d talk to Brad, the first thing he’d say is, ‘We’ll see if we can make it work.’ You’d sit down and come up with different possibilities. Sometimes he’d say, ‘Jerry, I don’t think this is feasible.’ But you’d understand it. You’d finish and know why it couldn’t work.”

Rothermel, an Illinois native, was a standout baseball player at Northern Illinois University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1960 in education. In 1961, he earned his master’s at the University of Illinois; in 1965, he received his doctorate from Illinois.

“Southern Nevada has lost a giant from its athletics history,” said UNLV athletic director Erick Harper via statement. “Brad Rothermel helped put the Rebels on the map in the world of sports and he was truly a gentleman in everything he did as a respected leader, educator and friend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Suzanne, and the entire Rothermel family.”

In 1974, Rothermel took a job at Kansas State as assistant athletic director and business manager. During that time, he befriended the Wildcats’ point guard, Lon Kruger. Thirty years later, the two would reunite at UNLV; Rothermel was instrumental in persuading Kruger to return to college coaching in Las Vegas.

In 1976, Rothermel became associate athletic director at West Virginia, where he stayed until UNLV hired him in 1981.

That was offset by the success of the men’s basketball program, which helped keep the athletic department financially solvent. Despite the Rebels’ success on the court, however, Rothermel found himself at odds with then-president Robert Maxson.

In 1987, the NCAA investigated the recruitment of Lloyd Daniels, a New York playground star who ironically never wore a UNLV uniform. Things got so contentious between Rothermel and Maxson that shortly after UNLV won the national championship in 1990, Rothermel announced he was resigning.

He didn’t return to athletics until 10 years later, when he became general manager of the Las Vegas Bandits, a professional team that competed in the International Basketball League.

After two years with the Bandits, Rothermel retired to spend time with his family. He wasn’t retired long, though; Hamrick called him in 2004 to come back part time to UNLV. Hamrick was looking for a basketball coach after Charlie Spoonhour stepped down for health reasons and Rothermel contacted Kruger, who was out of work after being let go by the NBA’s New York Knicks, for which he’d served as an assistant coach.

Kruger was looking to return to college coaching and Rothermel convinced him that he could succeed at UNLV. Under Kruger, the basketball program returned to national relevance, making the NCAA Tournament four times and reaching the Sweet 16 in 2007.

Rothermel also succeeded more on the hiring front of Hall of Famers. He tabbed Dwaine Knight, who would lead UNLV to the 1998 men’s national golf championship and Shan McDonald, who directed the softball program to three trips to the Women’s College World Series.

Rothermel remained on when Jim Livengood replaced Hamrick in December 2009.

Ed Graney contributed to this article.