Entering the final match of the 2006 National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) championships, the UNLV boxing club was in an unfamiliar position. With the team title up for grabs, the Fighting Rebels had to cheer for one of its most bitter rivals. An Air Force win would give UNLV its first team title, while a loss would give Navy the title.
"We aren't normally ones to cheer for (military) academy fighters because they are our biggest rivals, but we screamed our hearts out for the Air Force fighter," says Greg Murrell, a junior history major.
When the official raised the Air Force boxer's hand, UNLV had won the closest contest in the 30-year history of the event and became the first nonmilitary school to bring home the championship since 1993.
"We always knew that man-for-man we had the best individual boxers, but we just never had the depth on the team," says head coach Skip Kelp, a former professional boxer who competed in the 1988 Olympic Trials at age 17 and won two national Golden Gloves championships. "We would qualify six or seven boxers for nationals and consistently win individual titles, but the team championship would elude us because the academies would come 12 strong. This year we had 11 committed boxers and four determined coaches."
However, because two fighters couldn't compete — one because of academic ineligibility and another because of injury — Kelp says he feared a nine-man roster would not be enough to topple the perennial national powers.
"Losing two of our top boxers was definitely a blow, but we told everyone if they boxed like they were capable of boxing, we could still get the job done," Kelp says. "The rest of the guys made a commitment and came together to carry the load." Looking to prove himself after losing at the regional tournament, Murrell upset three No. 1 seeds en route to winning his second national title. Sophomore Jason Morris, senior Jeff Watkins, and junior Jason Crocco all took second places in their divisions and return this season to defend UNLV's team title.
Club Sport Challenges
Since boxing is a club sport not recognized by the NCAA and not affiliated with the university's athletic department, it can't offer scholarships. Just as with NCAA athletes, however, student-athletes must be pursuing a degree full-time at an accredited institution. Without scholarships, many of UNLV's boxers work to put themselves through school. "Very few students would go through the demanding boxing program without receiving any sort of scholarship," Kelp says. "It takes a special student-athlete to excel in this program, and we've been lucky to attract many of those students in our eight years of existence."
The club started in 1998 when Kelp was watching the college boxing championships on television with Bruce Korbin, a friend and local businessman. "We basically agreed that UNLV should have a boxing team being that Las Vegas is the boxing capital of the world," Kelp says.
Kelp, who has been the club's only head coach, says he is proud of the team's 90 percent graduation rate. "It's a great feeling because the students didn't come to school to become boxers; they came to get their education," he says. "Boxing is an activity that builds character and enhances their college experience."
Murrell is a good example of that, Kelp says.
Better Late Than Never
Murrell has been a standout since arriving at UNLV as a 22-year-old freshman. He got a late start on his college education because he served four years in the Army after graduating from high school.
The Army helped prepare Murrell for the rigors of being a student-athlete. "I can't complain about running three miles or studying for finals when I think about walking in miserable Alaska conditions carrying an 80-pound rucksack," he says. "The Army instills drive and motivation."
Those qualities help Murrell juggle his daily schedule of school, training, and work. "My education is my safety net," he says. "I want to be able to box professionally, but don't want to keep fighting when it's past my time and risk injury. Too many boxers have nothing else to fall back on when the money runs out, as it often does."
