UNLV football helmet in the air at a football game.

UNLV Sports Innovation Institute News

The UNLV Sports Innovation Institute aspires to be a nationally recognized hub that integrates sport science and sport business to provide cutting-edge solutions to unique challenges and drive the future of sport. The institute also aims to be a leader in training the next generation of sport scientists and sport business professionals through interdisciplinary education and research.

Current Sports Innovation Institute News

UNLV Golf
Research |

UNLV’s PGA Golf Management University Program partners with Las Vegas-based AI technology company Evenplay to study the effects of rewards on skill level.

overview of conference venue with panel speakers on stage
Business and Community |

Co-hosted by the UNLV Sports Innovation Institute, the inaugural SEICon event brings together dozens of sports, entertainment, and innovation leaders — including several with Rebel ties.

students in spring
Campus News |

News highlights starring UNLV students and faculty who made local and national headlines.

Spring Flowers (Becca Schwartz)
Campus News |

A roundup of the top news stories featuring UNLV students and faculty.

The Las Vegas strip as seen on Super Bowl weekend (Josh Hawkins/UNLV).
Campus News |

A collection of news stories and highlights featuring UNLV students and faculty.

Sports Innovation Institute In The News

KLAS-TV: 8 News Now

As the data rolls in, a team of sports medicine professionals analyzes the results of an athlete’s jump—it’s the beginning of a whole different ball game. During a Las Vegas Desert Dogs practice, a team from UNLV’s Sports Performance Education Economic Development Lab, otherwise known as SPEED, set up their high-tech floor monitor for players’ leaps.

TechXplore

Evenplay, an AI technology company based out of Las Vegas, has created a patented golf simulator application that creates challenges for all skill levels, with the intention of improving play performance through the use of cash rewards.

RUN

Massive leaps in shoe technology have revolutionized high-performance footwear over the past five years. Yes, we’re talking about super shoes. The number of runners racing in carbon-plated shoes jumped a staggering 14 percent just from 2023 to 2024, according to data from Strava.

Front Office Sports

There’s a “boatload” of money at stake for brands and the league.

Syracuse University News

More than 500 people attended the inaugural Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference (SEICon) in Las Vegas this summer. The David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, in collaboration with the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Sports Innovation Institute and the Las Vegas-based guest experience agency Circle, spent more than a year planning the event, which was held July 15-17 at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

KVVU-TV: Fox 5

Las Vegas is known for major sporting events, world class entertainment and conventions. There’s a conference later this month that is going to combine all three to continue to elevate our city and at the same time to give some UNLV students an opportunity for growth in the field they’ve chosen to go into.

Sports Innovation Institute Experts

An expert on psychiatric and mental health nursing.

Recent Sports Innovation Institute Accomplishments

Alina Swafford (UNLV Sports Innovation Institute), Dr. Nate Hollister (Medicine), undergraduate student Scott McDonald, and John Mercer (Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences; UNLV Sports Innovation Institute) published a perspective paper representing a call to action to research circus movements. The focus of the paper is on the use of wearable…
Postdoctoral fellow Cordero Roche (Sports Innovation Institute) has been selected to serve on the board of directors for the Mobile Laboratory Coalition (MLC). The MLC is an international organization dedicated to delivering STEM educational experiences and outreach programs.   As the coordinator of the UNLV Sports Performance, Education, and…
Cordero Roche, Alina Swafford (both UNLV Sports Innovation Institute) and John Mercer (Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences) published a paper titled "Influence of An Overhead Goal on Asymmetry During Countermovement Jump" in the Journal of Exercise Physiology - OnLine (JEPOnline). 
Vernice Ollano, UNLV alumnae; Tedd Girouard (Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences); John Mercer (Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences; UNLV Sports Innovation Institute); and Mehdi Kordi from the United Kingdom published "The use of heated garments as a warm-up for sprint and submaximal effort cycling" in the Journal of Exercise Physiology - On…
Cordero Roche (UNLV Sports Innovation Institute) served as a distinguished panelist at the Las Vegas Lights’ inaugural "Work in Sports Night" held at Cashman Field. During the event, Roche provided valuable insights into his academic background, his extensive experience working with professional sports teams as a Sport Scientist and Strength…
Nancy Lough (Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education; UNLV Sports Innovation Institute) was featured in episode 10 of the City Cast Las Vegas podcast. In this episode she does a deep dive into the complexities of endorsements, sponsorships, pay-to-play in pro sports, and how we can get to pay parity for women's sports.