In the old world of college sports, you needed a winning coach. In the new one, you need a war chest.
Thanks to the NCAA’s collapse in court and the arrival of a binding national NIL structure, athletic departments can no longer hide behind tradition or hope boosters quietly foot the bill. Everyone knows the stakes now. Everyone knows the price.
And at UNLV, for the first time, they’re not just willing to pay it. They’re leading with it.
Enter the Collective
It’s called Friends of UNILV, and it’s the engine behind one of the country’s most aggressive Group of Five NIL strategies.
Launched in May 2022 and powered by Blueprint Sports, the collective compensates UNLV athletes for everything from appearances and autograph signings to long-term brand partnerships. It’s entirely above board and thoroughly structured. UNLV is fully prepared for the post–House v. NCAA world, where collectives and universities will pay athletes directly.
Dan Mullen, Josh Pastner, and Lindy La Rocque were all hired into this environment. And none of them came cheap. But UNLV’s investment goes far beyond salary.
This is about sustainability. It’s about trajectory. It’s about acting like you belong before anyone else believes you do.
And that’s precisely what Friends of UNILV and the man behind it are trying to prove.
The Paulos Doctrine
If there’s one name that matters more than any other in the UNLV NIL ecosystem, it’s Bill Paulos.
A 1969 UNLV hotel school graduate and a Las Vegas casino icon, Paulos spent decades running properties from the Fremont to Circus Circus to the Cannery Casino Resorts empire he co-founded. He helped build the Smith Center, led the UNLV Foundation, supported the Problem Gaming Center, and once bought Gaming Today to keep a piece of Vegas media alive.
He’s not just a donor. He’s a believer.
And now, he’s the chairman and public face of Friends of UNILV.
“If we want to get coaches of Mullen’s and Pastner’s stature… we had to assure them we could raise NIL money so they could compete,” – Bill Paulos to Ed Graney, Las Vegas Review-Journal
“The goal of UNLV NIL is to get into a power conference like the Big 12. If we want that, we have to act like we belong.” – Bill Paulos to Ed Graney, Las Vegas Review-Journal
That message is resonating. Paulos said the collective doubled its basketball support to $1.5 million, increased football NIL funding to $3 million, and aims to triple those numbers in 2025.
Friends of UNILV is also one of the only collectives in the country to sign an entire women’s basketball team to NIL deals honoring a dominant Lady Rebels program led by Lindy La Rocque that has gone 128–30 overall and 79–11 in Mountain West play, with three straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2022–24) and a WBIT run in 2025. According to Blueprint Sports, the average monthly NIL value for female UNLV athletes is $1,400.
The Mullen Mission and the Roadmap Forward
The collective launched targeted fundraising efforts to directly support Dan Mullen’s football roster, offering everything from signed footballs to game-worn gear in exchange for contributions. But the real value isn’t memorabilia. It’s leverage.
It tells recruits they’ll be paid. It tells coaches they’ll be backed. And it tells conferences like the Big 12 that UNLV isn’t just hoping for an invite. It’s building the infrastructure now.
The model isn’t limited to football. Wide receiver Ricky White and center Desi-Rae Young have partnered with nonprofits like Candlelighters and the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Others have secured brand deals with local companies like Western Elite.
This isn’t a one-sport model. It’s a campus-wide financial movement.
House v. NCAA Changed Everything
The House settlement, formally approved by Judge Claudia Wilken, awarded $2.8 billion in backpay and created the most seismic shift in NCAA history.
Beginning in July 2025, participating schools, including UNLV, can directly share up to $20.5 million annually in revenue with athletes. The money comes from institutional sources, not donors, like media rights, sponsorships, and ticket sales.
In theory, football will receive 75%, men’s basketball 15%, and the remainder will go to the Olympics and women’s sports.
But there’s a cost. Football rosters will be capped at 105 players. Walk-ons will be cut. “Designated” scholarship players may be protected from limits, but schools will face hard decisions.
UNLV opted in anyway. Dan Mullen has voiced concern over reduced depth and lost opportunities for late bloomers, but he also knows what the model offers.
UNLV is now one of the only Group of Five schools positioned to handle NIL and revenue-sharing simultaneously.
Oversight, Transparency, and NIL Go
This new era isn’t the Wild West anymore.
A centralized clearinghouse, NIL Go, will oversee all transactions over $600. Every deal must meet fair market value, include tracking, and comply with audit requirements. There will be no more sham “birthday party” deals or under-the-table handouts.
This is an advantage, not a burden, for a structured collective like Friends of UNILV.
“It’s a new business model,” Paulos said. “We’ll have some trips and falls, but now we have rules. That’s a big step.” – Bill Paulos to Ed Graney, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Friends of UNILV already operates with contracts, payment schedules, and complete compliance procedures.
Facilities, Compliance, and the Vegas Edge
All this talent, visibility, and infrastructure only matter if you can house it.
UNLV can.
Allegiant Stadium, a $2 billion NFL-caliber venue
Fertitta Football Complex is among the best practice facilities in the Group of Five
Mendenhall Center, home to UNLV basketball and Team USA training
And it’s all 15 minutes from the Strip, in a top-40 media market, in a city that already hosts the NFL, NHL, WNBA, UFC, NBA Summer League, and Formula 1.
If you were building an NIL empire from scratch, you’d put it in Las Vegas.
UNLV already has:
A dominant women’s basketball program under La Rocque
A hopeful, resurgent men’s team under Pastner
A football team projected to win 9+ games under Mullen
And now, a functioning NIL system is ready for national scrutiny
Final Word: You Want In? This Is the Cost
UNLV has never been afraid of bold bets.
But it didn’t have the money to match its ambition for decades.
That’s no longer true.
The university opted into revenue sharing. Its collective is scaling fast. Its coaching hires made national waves. And its NIL program is setting a new standard for the Group of Five.
This isn’t Mountain West thinking anymore.
This is Power Conference behavior with the payroll, the infrastructure, and the blueprint to back it up.
The only question now is whether the rest of college sports is ready for UNLV.