Northwestern football to host UNLV in September 2019

Northwestern football has finalized its 2019 non-conference schedule, adding a Sept. 19 date with UNLV to a schedule that also includes a trip to Stanford on Aug. 31 and a visit from Massachusetts on Nov. 16.

2019 will mark the third meeting between the Wildcats and Rebels, the second at Ryan Field. Northwestern won big at home, 41-7, in 1998 and caught a little luck in a 2001 season opener in Las Vegas, winning 37-28.

UNLV will reportedly receive $1.2 million for the one-time trip.

“A trip to face a perennial Big Ten Conference bowl team such as Northwestern is a perfect addition to our 2019 schedule,” athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois said in a statement. “We look forward to taking our program back to Evanston (Illinois) for the first time in more than two decades.”

UNLV has made it an annual tradition to include a Big Ten contest among its non-conference slate. The Rebels lost to Michigan 28-7 in 2015 and will play on Ohio State on Sept. 23 this season. They received $1 million for the trip to Ann Arbor and will collect $1.3 million for their efforts in Columbus.

The Rebels have not put together a winning season since a 7-6 campaign in 2013. Head coach Tony Sanchez is 7-17 in his first two years in Las Vegas. Hopefully he can get his program on the right track by 2019.