Tina Kunzer-Murphy '75, M.Ed. '77
Biography
Tina Kunzer-Murphy, born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, has been a fixture in the Southern Nevada sports and philanthropy community for more than four decades. In 2013, Tina became the UNLV Interim Director of Athletics, marking two major milestones as she became both the first woman and the first alum of the school to run the department. Tina became the school's permanent Director of Athletics on Jan. 1, 2014.
As UNLV Athletics Director, she made a national splash by the hiring of Rebel Football Coach Tony Sanchez in December of 2014 and oversaw the construction of the Anthony and Lyndy Marnell Ill Baseball Clubhouse. In 2015 she oversaw the planning and fundraising for the Fettitta Football Complex on campus.
A graduate of Valley High School, Tina first attended Southern Utah State University (SUSC), where she lettered in swimming, and then returned to UNLV to compete in both tennis and volleyball in her hometown.
While earning her master's degree from UNLV, Tina served as a tennis instructor and dance teacher at both UNLV and CSN. After earning her degree, she was hired by UNLV as the head coach for the women's tennis team and director of the cheerleading program. During the early 1980s, Tina worked management roles under the UNLV Athletic Director and eventually was named UNLV's Senior Women's Administrator in 1981. In this role, Tina oversaw the Women's Athletic program, as well as various support groups such as the Rebel Football Foundation, Rebel Golf Foundation, and the Women's Sports Foundation, which she helped to create.
In 1983 Tina was named an Assistant Athletics Director and in 1987 was promoted to Senior Assistant Athletics Director. She left UNLV in 1992 to work for the Las Vegas 51s and Thunder professional sports franchises as Director of Corporate Sales and Marketing. In 1996, Tina was hired by the Western Athletic Conference to run its annual football championship game and men's and women's basketball championship events in Las Vegas. Tina returned to UNLV in 1999 when she was selected by ESPN Regional Television (ERT) to run the newly formed ESPN Regional at UNLV office.
From 2000-12, Tina served as Executive Director of the Las Vegas Bowl. Under her leadership, the bowl game enjoyed six consecutive sellouts from 2006-11, record-high TV ratings, and team payouts en route to elevating itself into the national college football landscape.
Tina is a 2007 inductee of the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame and in 2010 became the first woman to serve as Chairman of the Football Bowl Association. In summer 2011 she was honored as Las Vegas' Sportsperson of the Year as part of the annual "24-Hour Radiothon" staged by Lotus Broadcasting, which benefits The Caring Place, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to easing the journey of those affected by cancer.
Tina, who most recently served as Special Assistant to the Vice President of Philanthropy and Alumni engagement, is married to Greg Murphy, a respected and successful teacher and coach in the Clark County school district, and they have one son, Stephen, a professor at Auburn University. Stephen and his wife Ginny have two sons – Tina and Greg’s loved grandchildren – Jackson and Evan Kunzer.