UNLV REBELS

June 11, 2010

UNLV DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS JIM LIVENGOOD:
“It’s a momentous occasion for UNLV and certainly Rebel Baseball.”

“Rebel Baseball has made a lot of strides. The overall improvement, certainly academically and the quality of young men that was brought in here, has really improved. That’s a credit to (former UNLV head coach) Buddy Gouldsmith and his staff.”

“This process involved more than 100 individuals who wanted to coach Rebel Baseball. That says a lot about this University, a lot about Rebel Athletics and it says lot about Rebel Baseball. After doing a great number of phone interviews, we decided we would bring one candidate to campus.”

“Everything that we do from a contractual standpoint with coaches needs Board of Regents’ approval so contract details will be released at a later time.”

“Let me tell you a little about what makes Tim Chambers so special in our opinion. Great family, great wife, two great young daughters. He brings nothing but class and excellence to this University and this program. What he accomplished at Bishop Gorman and the College of Southern Nevada over the past number of seasons was, if you think about it, almost a miracle. It’s amazing. And he did it the right way -- hard work, bringing in the right kind of young people, and never letting someone tell him it couldn’t be done. And that’s what brings us to today.”

“UNLV wants to be excellent in academics. We want to have an excellent University. But we also want to be an excellent athletic program as well. We want and expect excellence and I think that’s exactly where we’re heading with Rebel Baseball.”

NEW UNLV BASEBALL HEAD COACH TIM CHAMBERS:
“It’s been a hard decision and it was fast. Just a week ago we were in the Junior College World Series and now I’m standing here in front of you. It was whirlwind for me and my family.”

“I’d like to thank all of my family at CSN – the president, the VPs, the counselors, the students and all of the players who have played for us over the last 11 years there. We built that program. We recruited in the summer of ’99 without a field. I had a piece of dirt. I brought them in and promised we’d have a field in time for the season. Over the last 10-11 years we’ve built it into what I call my little paradise in Henderson.”

“Really difficult decision to leave. People treated me really well there. With that said, it’s time to go. It’s time to try a new adventure. The goal is still the same – to get to the World Series. It’s just Omaha instead of Grand Junction now. That will always be my goal. I promise to work hard and to get Rebel Baseball where it needs to be and that’s up top with the big shots.”

ASKED ABOUT TURNING UNLV INTO A WINNER:
“10 years I spent at Bishop Gorman, and they’re the powerhouse now. They hadn’t been to the playoffs in 38 years when I took that job as a 25-year-old. We did a pretty good job there. We started (the CSN) program from dirt and we were able to get to the World Series twice, win a ring, finish third and be fortunate enough to coach the first pick in the draft.”

“You don’t take any job with the expectation that you can’t win. Yeah, I think we can win and I think we’re going to win a lot faster than people think we are.”

ASKED ABOUT WHAT HE BRINGS TO UNLV:
“You have to get players. Hopefully this doesn’t sound arrogant but the best players in town have been wearing (CSN) yellow as freshmen and sophomores. We need to get the best players in town here and then we’ll fill in with out-of-state guys. But you have to start at home with the top players and that’s going to get the fans excited and it’s going to get people in the seats. I believe that with the locals and some out-of-state guys, we can do this thing.”

“We have good players here already. We need some more. You look at other programs around the country and my question is ‘Why not? Why can’t we win here?’ It’s a great school, it’s got a good facility. We’re going to win.”