LAS VEGAS — UNLV’s Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will include seven inductees representing football, baseball, softball, men’s golf, women’s golf, athletics administration and longtime donor support.
The school announced Tuesday that Terry Cottle, Erick Fedde, Dana Finkelstein Fall, Charley Hoffman, Marissa Nichols, Bill Paulos and Jason Thomas will be inducted Nov. 5 at the Strip View Pavilion at the Thomas & Mack Center. The event begins with a 5:30 p.m. cocktail reception, followed by dinner and the ceremony at 6:45 p.m.
The class will also be recognized Nov. 7 during UNLV’s home football game against Wyoming at Allegiant Stadium.
This will be the 17th ceremony in the history of the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame, which began in 1987 and will now include 148 members, counting individuals and teams.
The class gives UNLV a wide cross-section of its athletic history. Thomas remains one of the most productive quarterbacks the football program has had. Fedde went from Las Vegas High to UNLV to the first round of the MLB Draft. Finkelstein Fall became one of the most decorated women’s golfers in Mountain West history. Hoffman helped the Rebels win the 1998 men’s golf national championship before building a long PGA Tour career. Nichols still owns some of the best offensive seasons in UNLV softball history. Cottle spent three decades inside the department. Paulos helped support major facility, fundraising and NIL efforts.
“Every two years we look forward to celebrating the people who have made UNLV such a special place and this upcoming class is another great example of what it takes to be a Rebel,” UNLV Director of Athletics Erick Harper said in the school’s announcement. “Moving the ceremony back to a more traditional setting during a home basketball and football weekend will make it even more memorable for the inductees, their families, friends and all of Rebel Nation.”
Thomas is the football headliner.
A former USC transfer, Thomas played quarterback for UNLV from 2000 to 2002 under John Robinson and still ranks sixth in program history with 4,997 passing yards. He also remains the school’s career rushing leader among quarterbacks with 1,528 yards and owns the UNLV quarterback record with 24 rushing touchdowns.
His 2000 season remains one of the defining years of modern Rebel football. Thomas led the Mountain West with 11 rushing touchdowns, helped UNLV finish 8-5 and led the Rebels to a 31-14 win over Arkansas in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Thomas completed 12 of 17 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns against Arkansas and was named Las Vegas Bowl MVP. The win pushed UNLV to 3-0 all-time in bowl games and gave the program its most victories in 16 years.
Fedde enters as one of the best pitchers in UNLV baseball history.
A Las Vegas High graduate, Fedde stayed home for college and became the third Rebel ever selected in the first round of the MLB Draft when the Washington Nationals took him 18th overall in 2014. He went 21-10 with a 3.18 ERA at UNLV, struck out 231 batters in 263.1 innings and held opposing hitters to a .247 batting average.
His junior season in 2014 was cut short by injury, but not before he put together one of the best pitching seasons in program history. Fedde went 8-2 with a 1.76 ERA, struck out 82 batters in 76.2 innings and was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Year. He also earned Louisville Slugger Second Team All-America honors and was named First Team All-Mountain West.
Fedde’s professional career has stretched across Major League Baseball and overseas. He has pitched for the Nationals, White Sox, Cardinals, Braves and Brewers, and he spent one season in Korea, where he won the KBO pitching triple crown and earned the league’s equivalent of the Cy Young Award and MVP in 2023.
Finkelstein Fall gives the class one of the most accomplished golfers in school history.
She was a two-time All-American at UNLV, a consensus First Team All-American as a senior in 2015 and a three-time Mountain West Player of the Year. She was also a four-time First Team All-Mountain West selection and was named the league’s co-Freshman of the Year in 2012.
Finkelstein Fall left UNLV as the winningest golfer in program history with five career tournament victories. She still holds the school record with 56 career rounds at par or better and set single-season program records with a 71.82 scoring average and 124 birdies during the 2014-15 season.
She led the Rebels to NCAA Regionals in all four seasons and helped the program reach back-to-back NCAA Championship appearances as a junior and senior. She later played professionally on the LPGA Tour after earning her card through the Epson Tour.
Hoffman joins the Hall of Fame after already being part of one of the greatest teams in UNLV history.
He was a member of the Rebels’ 1998 national championship men’s golf team, which was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. Hoffman earned honorable mention All-America honors in 1998 under Dwaine Knight and helped UNLV win the national title in Albuquerque with a top-20 individual finish.
His professional career became one of the most successful by any former Rebel. Hoffman has won four times on the PGA Tour, finished runner-up in 10 PGA Tour events, played on the 2017 Presidents Cup team and recorded a career-best 12th-place finish at the 2018 Masters. His PGA Tour career earnings are listed at $36 million.
Hoffman has also remained connected to Southern Nevada through the Charley Hoffman Foundation, which has raised more than $1.8 million for charities benefiting children in San Diego and Las Vegas.
Nichols enters with one of the strongest softball résumés in school history.
She played outfield for the Rebels from 2005 to 2010, helped UNLV reach the NCAA Tournament in 2005 and 2009 and served as team captain in five of her six seasons. She was a 2005 NFCA First Team All-American, a First Team All-West Region selection, a three-time First Team All-Mountain West pick and the 2005 UNLV Sportswoman of the Year.
Her 2005 season remains one of the best individual years in program history. Nichols set UNLV single-season records for runs, hits, home runs, total bases and stolen bases. She hit .426 with 89 hits, 66 runs, 18 home runs, 46 RBIs, eight triples and 35 stolen bases that season.
She also remains prominent in the career record book, ranking third in total bases and stolen bases, fourth in slugging percentage and home runs, fifth in runs and doubles, sixth in on-base percentage and seventh in hits and batting average.
Nichols has continued her career in college athletics and now serves as Senior Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator at Cal.
Cottle represents the staff side of the class.
He joined UNLV in 1984 and spent 30 years in the athletics department. He served nearly 10 seasons as an assistant football coach, which at the time was the longest such streak in Rebel history, and was part of the staff for the 1984 Big West and California Bowl championship team.
Cottle later worked as recruiting coordinator, director of football operations, associate athletic director of marketing and director of community relations in sports marketing. He also oversaw several Olympic sports programs and served as the department’s primary liaison to the UNLV Rebel Football Foundation.
His work extended into the Southern Nevada sports community. Cottle was involved in the development of the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame, served on multiple local boards and spent years on the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame Committee.
Paulos will be inducted as a Distinguished Contributor.
A UNLV graduate and longtime gaming executive, Paulos has supported Rebel athletics for five decades. He helped make the Mendenhall Center a reality for Runnin’ Rebel basketball and played a major role in the construction of the Fertitta Football Complex, the daily home of UNLV football.
Paulos also served as president and a key contributor of the Runnin’ Rebel Club, has been involved with the Rebel Golf Foundation and recently helped lead UNLV Athletics’ NIL efforts.
A New Jersey native who moved to Las Vegas to attend UNLV, Paulos graduated in 1969 as part of the first graduating class of the Harrah Hotel College. He later became one of Nevada’s major gaming executives, co-founding Millennium Management Group and helping lead Cannery Casino Resorts.
The Class of 2026 stretches across eras, sports and roles.
Thomas helped give UNLV football one of its signature modern moments. Fedde became a local baseball star and first-round pick. Finkelstein Fall built one of the greatest women’s golf careers in conference history. Hoffman connected UNLV’s national championship golf past to a long PGA Tour career. Nichols authored one of the best softball careers the school has had. Cottle helped shape the department from the inside. Paulos helped fund and support the infrastructure around it.
Together, they give UNLV another Hall of Fame class built around production, longevity and influence.
