Vegas Doesn’t Fold — It Fights.
UNLV Erased Its Soul in 2021. It’s Time to Bring Hey Reb Back.
UNLV didn’t just retire a mascot.
They erased the heartbeat of the program.
In 2021, Hey Reb was wiped away — no vote, no public discussion, no community input.
Just vanished. Quietly.
And the worst part?
It wasn’t because of anything he did.
It was panic. Optics. Headlines.
The admin folded under pressure and deleted the symbol that lit up the Thomas & Mack for decades.
Since then? The vibe hasn’t been the same.
There’s no energy. No icon. No face of the Rebels.
UNLV’s identity was gutted — and it’s time to fix that.
Hey Reb Was Never the Problem
Let’s correct the record:
• Hey Reb was born in 1983, inspired by the western trailblazers of the 1800s.
• He wasn’t Confederate. He wasn’t controversial.
• His costume was updated in 1997 and again in 2017 — removing any outdated imagery.
• He wore “57” to represent UNLV’s birth year, not a battlefield.
He was a staple at every game.
He lit up the arena. He made kids laugh, fans roar, and opponents uncomfortable.
He was Vegas — independent, wild, and proudly different.
They Took Him Without a Fight
UNLV removed his statue in 2020.
Then officially retired him in January 2021.
Not one regent responded to the thousands of alumni and fans who spoke up.
Not one admin stood up to say, “Let’s talk about this.”
No mascot replaced him. No plan followed.
Just silence — and a void that’s never been filled.
The Petition That Got Ignored
Back in 2020, Craig Lake launched a petition to save Hey Reb.
It wasn’t a small effort.
7,627 signatures in just over 8 days.
Alumni. Students. Boosters. Locals. National media.
And UNLV ignored it.
No public statement. No response. No debate.
Now? It’s 2025. And the energy is different.
It’s time to revive that movement and finish what it started.
This Isn’t About the Past. It’s About Who We Are.
The “Rebels” name still exists.
But without a face — without a heartbeat — it means less.
UNLV needs a unifying identity again.
Hey Reb was that.
He stood for the same Vegas values we live by:
Bold. Resilient. Unconventional. Built Different.
If the university truly believes in the Rebel spirit, then it’s time to bring back the symbol that represented it best.
Vegas Doesn’t Erase Icons. It Builds Around Them.
This isn’t about controversy.
It’s about community.
It’s about restoring energy and identity to a school with championship ambition.
It’s about finally listening to the alumni, students, athletes, and fans who built this place.
So here’s your call to action:
Sign the petition. Share this post. Tag your people. Tag the university.
Let’s bring Hey Reb home.
Let’s show them what Rebels really do.
#UNLV #HeyReb #BringBackHeyReb #VegasBorn #Rebels #UNLVFB #RunninRebels