Page 48 - Las Vegas Golf & Leisure Winter 2019

[ GOLF ]

UNL V

Named for Hall of Fame men’s golf
coach Dwaine Knight, who led his
team to the 1998 NCAA title and eight
NCAA regional titles and continues
to keep them solidly in the top 20, the
Knight Center is dedicated to embody
his career of excellence. The Knight
Center will provide a wonderful setting
to educate the next wave of club profes-
sionals, in addition to helping Knight’s
high-level players—and also the Amy
Bush-Herzer’s women’s golf team
members—learn about their swings to
maximize scores and performance.
The Knight Center features state-of-the-art facilities, offices, class-
rooms, and a large putting green in front of the building that is truly a
welcoming green carpet for the PGM program and the Harrah College
of Hospitality. The Knight Center is located within the Harrah College. “We are already starting to see
The Harrah College of Hospitality is one of the top-rated hospitality team members and PGM students
management programs in the world. The new building offers a tantaliz-
ing view of the Las Vegas Strip and was designed more as a resort hotel collaborate and hang out together. It’s a
than a staid college building. The Knight Center stands out. really a nice thing to see those synergies
“The excitement we have from the students is very high already,” says starting to form and bonds being
UNLV PGM director Chris Cain, Ph.D., PGA, CHE. “Not only are the
PGM students excited, but it’s become a very welcoming place for both made.”
the UNLV men’s and women’s golf teams. We are already starting to see -UNLV PGM Director Chris Cain, Ph.D., PGA, CHE
team members and PGM students collaborate and hang out together.
It’s a really a nice thing to see those synergies starting to form and
bonds being made. Celebrating Dwaine Knight’s legacy and making
the center central to golf at UNLV is a really great opportunity to bring
everyone together to celebrate UNLV’s contribution to golf and the
community’s contribution to golf in a state-of-the-art place that has no
comparison among other PGM programs around the country.”
Dr. Stowe Shoemaker, dean of the Harrah College of Hospitality, be-
lieves the new building and center can be a transcendent for students.
“The key is that we are an academic institution and this is an academ-
ic building,” Shoemaker says. “It’s all about changing lives through
education, and when we thought about how to name the golf center,
it needed to be somebody who represents education, dedication and
commitment. Coach Knight was the perfect choice.”
Cain said the technology is a game changer, literally and figuratively.
“The technology within the center is second to none,” Cain says. “We
have a 3D biomechanics lab, a swing simulation room, a golf simula-
tion room, a golf shop, and a state-of-the-art club repair and design
center.”
At the Las Vegas Country Club 2017 UNLV Rebels men’s golf day,
the official name was unveiled, and Knight expressed appreciation for
being recognized.
“This is a wonderful honor for my wife, Debbie, and I, and to be part
of the hotel school, which is always highly ranked nationally, is very
special,” Knight says. “Initially, I had trouble with it because so many
others have done more for UNLV than I have, but I had a conversation
with longtime UNLV Golf Foundation member Tom Hartley and he
said, ‘It’s not only your name that will be up there, this will represent so

46 LVG&L WINTER 2019 W W W.L ASVEGASGOLFANDLEISURE.COM