Neither UNLV's Rebel nickname nor its Hey Reb! mascot have ties to the pro-slavery Confederate Army, according to a report released Monday by the university.
In a 60-page analysis assembled over the course of five months, UNLV Chief Diversity Officer Rainier Spencer detailed an exhaustive search of school records and a series of conversations with students, faculty and community activists that led him to the determination.
The report was requested by UNLV President Len Jessup in June following comments made by Sen. Harry Reid over the university's nickname amid a nationwide focus on symbols of the Confederacy that were prompted by a racially-inspired shooting in Charleston, S.