A LAND-GRANT FLAGSHIP. TAHOE UNDER AN HOUR AWAY.
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno is a public land-grant research university with about 20,200 undergraduates on a 290-acre campus just north of downtown Reno. Skiing here was dropped in 2010 and came back in 2022-23 when the university absorbed Sierra Nevada University; the alpine-only Wolf Pack trains at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe, 25 miles up the highway, and races RMISA at the Division I level.
Reno, NV
- NCAA · Division I institution
- NCAA skiing
- RMISA
- Men & women
- Also fields a USCSA club team
Photo: Wheeler Cowperthwaite, CC BY 2.0
University of Nevada, RenoNCAA D1 · RMISA · #9 power rank
- NCAA divisionRMISA · NCAA skiing
- D1
- UndergraduatesFall 2025
- 20,204
- Acceptance rateFall 2025
- 83%
- Cost of attendance, resident on campus2026-27
- $31,290
- Home hill (Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe)25 miles from downtown Reno
- Mt. Rose
- Student-faculty ratioFall 2025
- 18:1
- Roster athletes2026-27
- 16
- NCAA power rankscore 39.40
- #9
Why Nevada?
Division I racing.A program still being built.
Nevada offers a large research university and Mountain West-scale campus life with a small, alpine-only team that has climbed quickly since its 2022 relaunch.
Top-15 finishes two years running
The Wolf Pack finished 12th at the 2026 NCAA Championships, its best since 2010, after qualifying five skiers, the most since 2010.(nevadawolfpack.com)
Athletic scholarships in an equivalency sport
Nevada offers athletic aid within NCAA skiing limits of 6.3 (men) and 7.0 (women) equivalency scholarships.(nevadawolfpack.com)
Training 25 miles from campus
The team trains at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe and Sky Tavern and hosts the Nevada Invitational at Mt. Rose, whose 8,260-foot base is the highest at Tahoe.(nevadawolfpack.com)
More than 145 undergraduate programs
Thirteen engineering disciplines, business, nursing, journalism and the sciences, plus an Honors College that grew from 440 to 1,250 students between 2019 and 2025.(unr.edu)
About the school
The honest version.
What the school is, what it is known for, and what a family should weigh before committing.
The University of Nevada, Reno is a public land-grant research university with about 20,400 undergraduates on a 290-acre campus just north of downtown Reno, with Lake Tahoe under an hour away. Engineering, business, journalism (the Reynolds School), nursing and the sciences are the recognized strengths, and the Honors College has grown from 440 students in 2019 to 1,250. Admission requires a 3.0 weighted GPA in core courses; tests are not required, and the middle half of freshmen who submitted SAT scores had 1060 to 1280. Campus life is big-school: 17 Division I teams in the Mountain West and 250-plus clubs. The skiing story is unusual. Nevada raced from 1936 to 2010, then dropped the sport; it came back in 2022-23 when the university absorbed Sierra Nevada University and its coaches. The alpine-only team, about 8 to 10 per gender, trains at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe, roughly 25 miles up Highway 431, and at Sky Tavern, competes in RMISA at the Division I level, and offers athletic scholarships. Five Wolf Pack skiers qualified for the 2026 NCAA Championships.
Know before you commit
- The program is young: skiing was cut in 2010 and only relaunched in 2022-23, so there is no long modern track record, the roster is small (8-10 per gender) and alpine-only, and the team has not yet placed near the top of RMISA.(nevadawolfpack.com)
- Out-of-state cost: the 2026-27 nonresident on-campus cost of attendance is $51,478, versus $31,290 for Nevada residents; WUE tuition ($14,074) helps only for eligible Western-state students.(unr.edu)
- Conference results are still mid-pack: in 2025-26 the team finished between 5th and 8th in every RMISA carnival, including 7th and 8th at the RMISA Championships at Bridger Bowl.(nevadawolfpack.com)
Feel the campus
From first tracks to final exams.
Credited archive photographs of the campus, the town and the hill; not current team photography.
5 of 5 photos shown
Ski team experience
Wolf Pack.Relaunched in 2022.
Nevada skied from 1936 to 2010, then reinstated the sport for 2022-23 as part of absorbing Sierra Nevada University. The program is alpine only, slalom and giant slalom, and competes in RMISA against Colorado, Denver, Utah, Montana State and the two Alaska schools. Head coach Cameron Smith, extended through 2029 in August 2026, leads a 2026-27 roster of 8 men and 7 women from six countries and five U.S. states.
- Team athletes
- 16
- Men / women
- 8 / 8
- International athletes
- 8
- 2026 NCAA Championships
- 12th
- NCAA qualifiers, 2026
- 5
- Conference
- RMISA
Program overview
Nevada skied from 1936 to 2010, then reinstated the sport for 2022-23 as part of absorbing Sierra Nevada University. The program is alpine only, slalom and giant slalom, and competes in RMISA against Colorado, Denver, Utah, Montana State and the two Alaska schools. Head coach Cameron Smith, extended through 2029 in August 2026, leads a 2026-27 roster of 8 men and 7 women from six countries and five U.S. states.
- DivisionNCAA Division I institution
- SkiingNCAA skiing · RMISA
- Home venuesMt. Rose Ski Tahoe (~35 min); Lake Tahoe resorts
- SidesMen & women
Nevada finished 12th at the 2026 NCAA Skiing Championships at Utah Olympic Park (March 11-14, 2026), its best finish since 2010, and Erica Lynch's seventh place in slalom on March 13 made her the program's first All-American since 2010.(nevadawolfpack.com)
Questions for the coach
No published training week for this program, so these are the questions to ask.
- Scholarship realityWith 6.3 men's and 7.0 women's equivalency scholarships across a 15-skier roster, ask what share of tuition an athletic award would actually cover in year one.
- Residency and WUENonresident cost of attendance is $51,478 versus $31,290 resident; ask whether you qualify for WUE tuition ($14,074) and whether athletic aid stacks with it.
- Training commuteMt. Rose is 25 miles from downtown Reno; ask how many mornings a week the team drives up, and how training days line up with class blocks.
- Test scores for scholarshipsTests are optional for admission but required for most first-year merit scholarships; decide early whether to submit an SAT or ACT.
Coaching staff
- Cameron SmithHead Coach
- Francesco GaldioloAssistant Coach
- Montana LloydAthletic Communications
Women
| # | Athlete | Yr · seasons left | SL | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erica Lynch USA · 2003 · scorer | SR · ≤1 | 32.45 | 37.87 |
| 2 | Elisa Eder AUT · 2005 · scorer | FR · ≤4 | 45.01 | 34.72 |
| 3 | Noelle Roth USA · 2006 · scorer | FR · ≤4 | 44.28 | 45.53 |
| 4 | Zali Sutton AUS · 2003 | SR · ≤1 | 47.39 | 56.37 |
| 5 | Sophia Falter USA · 2007 | SO · ≤3 | 61.24 | 48.78 |
| 6 | Charlotte Clement FRA · 2002 | SR · ≤1 | 52.29 | 62.85 |
| 7 | Jessica Blackburn USA · 2004 | SR · ≤1 | 57.71 | 54.82 |
| 8 | Cate Dance AUS · 2005 | SO · ≤3 | 67.78 | 70.70 |
* USSA national points, shown where the athlete has no FIS points in that discipline. Not directly comparable to FIS points.
Men
| # | Athlete | Yr · seasons left | SL | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pietro Bisello ITA · 2004 · scorer | SO · ≤3 | 28.74 | 38.98 |
| 2 | Jules Baur FRA · 2001 · scorer | SR · ≤1 | 40.10 | 46.60 |
| 3 | Tommaso Speri ITA · 2004 · scorer | SO · ≤3 | 40.13 | 44.52 |
| 4 | Peyton Wells USA · 2005 | SO · ≤3 | 41.11 | 43.30 |
| 5 | David Morken USA · 2005 | JR · ≤2 | 45.03 | 42.21 |
| 6 | Engebret Groethe Halbjoerhus NOR · 2004 | SR · ≤1 | 44.57 | 42.83 |
| 7 | Charles Zaretsky USA · 2006 | FR · ≤4 | 45.95 | 47.15 |
| 8 | Ryan Herhusky USA · 2003 | SR · ≤1 | 47.44 | 55.57 |
* USSA national points, shown where the athlete has no FIS points in that discipline. Not directly comparable to FIS points.
Names from the school's published 2026-27 roster; FIS points attached by name from the athlete's most recent list. (source)
NCAA Division I roster limit: 16 for men's skiing and 16 for women's skiing at participating institutions; the alpine/nordic split is not confirmed. (ncaa.org)
Team strength
best-three average · scoring line = 3rd best| Side | SL | GS | SG | DH | Athletes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 36.32 line 40.13 | 41.34 line 42.83 | 83.87 line 90.86 | 151.73 line 174.57 | 8 |
| Women | 40.58 line 45.01 | 39.37 line 45.53 | 132.03 line 215.96 | 157.70 line 271.68 | 8 |
Power score 39.40: mean of the men’s and women’s best-three SL and GS averages, ranked #9 in its group.
Academics
What you can study.
Nevada runs a semester calendar, so the January-to-March RMISA season falls inside spring semester and the NCAA Championships land in mid-March. Admission requires a 3.0 weighted GPA in core courses; tests are optional for admission but required for most first-year scholarships. The Honors College has grown to 1,250 students and engineering offers thirteen disciplines, both worth asking about when you plan a race-season course load.
- 20,204Undergraduates
- 18:1Student-faculty ratio
- 61%Six-year graduation rate
7 featured fields · full catalog
- Mechanical EngineeringEngineeringOne of thirteen engineering majors, from aerospace and biomedical to mining and materials science.
- Computer Science and EngineeringQuantitativeA combined computer science and engineering major in the College of Engineering.
- FinanceBusinessPart of a College of Business slate that also includes accounting, economics, management and marketing.
- NursingHealthA BSN through the Orvis School of Nursing.
- JournalismArts & HumanitiesOffered by the Reynolds School of Journalism with several specializations.
- Environmental ScienceEnvironmentA life-sciences major alongside wildlife ecology and conservation and biotechnology.
- KinesiologyHealthHome of the Outdoor Adventure and Leadership minor, which takes students on field trips such as whitewater rafting.
Source: unr.edu
Admissions
Your path here.
- Testing
- test-optional(unr.edu)
- GPA
- 3.0 weighted GPA in academic core courses required(dataden.unr.edu)
- Application deadline
- November 15 (early action); April 7 (final, Fall 2026 cycle)(unr.edu)
- Create an application account, receive your PIN by email and submit the online application.
- Activate your MyNevada account once your NSHE ID arrives (24 to 48 hours).
- Send official transcripts and immunization records through the upload portals.
- Submit SAT or ACT scores only if you want scholarship consideration, then watch MyNevada for the decision.
Test scores
What admitted students scored.
Test-optional · enrolled, Fall 2025
- SAT total1060 – 1280
- ACT composite18 – 25
Middle 50%: a quarter scored below the low figure and a quarter above the high one. Source: dataden.unr.edu
Acceptance rate
How selective it is.
- Admitted
- Not admitted
Nevada admits most applicants who meet the 3.0 core GPA and course requirements, and there is no application fee for domestic undergraduates. Admission is separate from a roster spot or athletic aid, which the coaching staff decides.
Source: dataden.unr.edu
Cost & financial aid
What a year costs.
2026-27 published figures.
| Tuition and fees (resident, 30 credits) | $11,079 |
|---|---|
| Tuition (nonresident, per year) | $29,572 |
| Tuition (WUE, per year) | $14,074 |
| Housing (on campus) | $8,464 |
| Food (on campus) | $7,488 |
| Total cost of attendance (resident, on campus) | $31,290 |
| Total cost of attendance (nonresident, on campus) | $51,478 |
Cost of attendance figures include tuition, fees, housing, food, books, personal and transportation estimates. WUE tuition applies only to eligible Western-state students. Skiing is an NCAA equivalency sport, so athletic aid is usually partial; tests are required for most first-year merit scholarships.(unr.edu)
Financial aid informationLocation
Campus, hill, airport.
A 290-acre campus founded in 1874 just north of downtown Reno, with 13 colleges and schools.
Student life
Beyond the hill.
Nine residence halls
Housing ranges from classic singles to suites and apartment-style living across nine halls; the university notes that students who live on campus earn higher grades and graduate earlier.(unr.edu)
A growing Honors College
The Honors College grew from 440 students in Fall 2019 to 1,250 in Fall 2025.(unr.edu)
Outdoor leadership as a minor
The Outdoor Adventure and Leadership minor in the School of Public Health runs field courses such as rafting the South Fork of the American River.(unr.edu)
Athlete voices
Real stories.
“I'm incredibly grateful to Stephanie Rempe, President Sandoval and the University of Nevada for their trust and continued support of our program.”
Cameron Smith, head coach · source “Wolf Pack Skiing has made great strides since its reinstatement four seasons ago and Cameron has been instrumental to our recent achievements.”
Stephanie Rempe, director of athletics · source
Alumni & outcomes
What came next.
- Olympians from the 1936-2010 program(unr.edu)
- 4
- All-America honors, 1936-2010(unr.edu)
- 39
- Six-year graduation rate, 2019 cohort(dataden.unr.edu)
- 61%
- All-American since the 2022 relaunch (Erica Lynch, 2026)(nevadawolfpack.com)
- 1
Sources, rights and updates
Where this comes from.
Every figure carries its reporting period and a link. Rosters and points come from official rosters and FIS or USCSA results. Photographs are Wikimedia Commons archive images under open licences, credited on each image.
- unr.eduopens in a new tab
- dataden.unr.eduopens in a new tab
- nevadawolfpack.comopens in a new tab
- skirose.comopens in a new tab
- rmisaskiing.comopens in a new tab
26 source pages across 5 sites
Your future in skiing starts here