LAS VEGAS — The University of Hawai'i and Nevada-Las Vegas football teams play in the desert tonight, but what they are also playing for is a piece of paradise in the Pacific.

Of all the teams on the Warriors' 13-game schedule this year, only with UNLV is there a two-front recruiting tug-a-war with both teams' backyards in play.

UNLV has five players from Hawai'i and is interested in gathering more and better ones. UH has two from Nevada, and has its eyes on an additional load of talent.

Several players at Palo Verde High School, where the Warriors practiced for four days this week, came by to check out UH, which has confirmed it is talking to 10 players in the area. Meanwhile UNLV assistant Keith Uperesa, a Punahou School graduate, is a regular visitor on the recruiting circuit back home.

So, while playing for a victory on the field at Sam Boyd Stadium and enhancing their bowl prospects are the immediate goals in a 5 p.m. (Hawai'i time) game, nobody involved is overlooking the recruiting skirmish that lies behind it. Or, what is up for grabs in the process.

In less than five months, Hawai'i's top high school players will be invited to sign on the dotted line national letters of intent that bind prospects to their school.

That's no small point, both head coaches acknowledge. "Everybody wants to be with a winner, so I think it is important to win this game," UH head coach Greg McMackin said. This (Las Vegas) is the ninth island with 250,000 Polynesians here in this area and it is important that we represent Hawai'i and really give a good effort."

UNLV coach Mike Sanford says a victory "is important to these guys (UNLV's Hawai'i contingent) but it is also important to us."

32,000 EXPECTED

UNLV projects a crowd of approximately 32,000 for today's game, spokesman Mark Wallington said.

UH's last appearance in Sam Boyd Stadium drew 38,125 in 2007, the fourth largest crowd in UNLV history. The Warriors were nationally ranked (22nd) then and the economy was better, officials point out.

The Warriors' 2003 visit lured 34,287, the seventh largest crowd for the Rebels.

WARRIORS SAVE $30,000

The Warriors expect to save $30,000 by remaining on the continent between last week's Washington State game and today's meeting with UNLV, athletic director Jim Donovan said.

Donovan said it is projected to cost UH $275,000 for the 11-day, two-game trip. Had UH returned home after the game in Seattle and then flown to Las Vegas, Donovan said the price tag would have been approximately $305,000.

But Donovan maintained the benefits of remaining on the content were two-fold. "It saved us money, but I also believe the team benefitted by getting better acclimated to the (warm) weather in Las Vegas. After practicing (five) days in the heat, there shouldn't be any excuses."

Donovan said he was also influenced by how well the Warriors played at New Mexico State last year after remaining on the road. UH won, 42-30.

TOP TIER TICKETS

For UNLV, UH is among its most lucrative football opponents.

The Rebels price their individual game tickets on a tier system ($35 for the most attractive games, $32 for the second level and $29 for the bottom). UH and BYU top the price range at $35, three dollars higher than Oregon State and Utah. Sacramento State, San Diego State and Colorado State fetch $29.