UNLV’s Runnin’ Rebels keep showing love to local veterans.
For starters, the program began in 2019 with Seats for Service, which gives free tickets to selected veterans and their families for every home game. This season, UNLV added another layer of support. It started a free-throw tracker that turns made free throws into donations for Hoops for Troops through the Nevada Veterans Foundation.
The push is backed by Acesso Biologics, a Las Vegas-based regenerative medicine company. Since Acesso already supports the Nevada Veterans Foundation, the fit with UNLV Athletics made sense. As a result, Acesso donates $100 for every UNLV made free throw this season. So far, the Rebels have made 430, which means $43,000 donated and counting.
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Too many veterans still struggle with housing, and many do not have family or friends to lean on. Because of that, support programs matter. In fiscal year 2025, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it permanently housed 51,936 homeless veterans nationwide, its highest total in seven years.
Even so, Las Vegas is not immune. Local Point-in-Time counts have shown about 900 veterans experiencing homelessness in the Las Vegas and Clark County area, including 912 in 2023, before the count dropped to 644 in January 2024. That is why it helps when teams and companies create simple, fun ways to give back to veterans who need it most.
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Jesse Vanderveer is a basketball reporter and writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @JesseVanderveer22
