Rebels Football ended a record-breaking 2024 season with the announcement of three players being named First Team Academic All-America® by College Sports Communicators: linebacker Jackson Woodard, wide receiver Ricky White III, and safety Jalen Catalon. All three also earned All-America honors on the field after the 11-3 Rebels finished ranked nationally for the first time ever at No. 23.

UNLV was ranked No. 15 in Study Abroad Aide's second edition of the "50 Best Hispanic-Serving Institutions for International Students" list. As an HSI, UNLV prides itself on being an institution of opportunity where students from traditionally underrepresented in higher education can receive the support they need to achieve their educational and professional goals.

UNLV alumnus Zachary Billot, ’24 Political Science, was named a 2025 Marshall Scholar, marking a milestone as the first in the university’s history to earn this prestigious award. Billot’s award was the culmination of years of extraordinary accomplishments. As an undergraduate in UNLV’s Honors College, he made university history in 2023 as the first to win both the Truman and Udall scholarships in the same year. Now, as a Marshall Scholar, he joins an elite group of leaders whose alumni include Supreme Court justices, Pulitzer Prize winners, and a Nobel laureate.

Supported by a $15 million donation from Sands, UNLV is establishing the Sands Institute for Chinese Language and Culture as part of its dedication to enriching the educational and cultural landscape of Las Vegas and beyond. The Sands Institute will be housed in UNLV’s newly renovated Maryland Administrative Building, offering a central location accessible to both university students and the broader Las Vegas community. The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art classrooms, exhibition spaces, and meeting venues designed to host a wide array of events. With the substantial financial support from Sands, the institute is poised to become an internationally recognized center for the study and appreciation of Chinese language and culture.

UNLV has been recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge as a 2024 “Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting.” The award recognizes colleges and universities for outstanding efforts to increase nonpartisan student voter participation. The Goldfield Room in Lied Library served as both an early voting location and an Election Day polling site, where voters received a unique, Nevada-shaped "I Voted" sticker designed by a UNLV student.

The UNLV College of Fine Arts and UNLV Film hosted an in-depth panel conversation in November regarding plans for Warner Bros. Studio Nevada. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), one of the world’s leading global media and entertainment companies, announced  plans to partner with UNLV and Birtcher Development through a long-term commitment to lease, operate and fully occupy Nevada Studios – the centerpiece of a film studio tax credit legislative proposal that seeks to establish film and TV studio infrastructure and workforce development programs at UNLV’s Harry Reid Research & Technology Park in Las Vegas.

UNLV Athletics generated more than $109 million annually in added income to the local economy, according to a recent economic impact analysis conducted by labor market analytics company Lightcast. The study highlighted the many ways that UNLV Athletics creates value, from playing a key role in helping student-athletes increase their employability to generating both dollars and opportunities for Clark County through operations, visitor spending, and human capital.

UNLV was one of just three national finalists for the annual Degree Completion Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, which recognized innovative approaches the university has taken recently to drive graduation rates to the highest level in its history. These programs include, Rebel Ready Week, the development of Student Outreach, and Retention, Progression, and Completion coordinators in each college. Thanks to these resources, UNLV; graduation rates are at an all-time high.