Let's Talk UNLV

Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a Kun V studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Dr. Sammie Scales 0:20
Hello, hello, UNLV. Welcome to another episode of Let's Talk 91.5 so today I have a very special guest here with me. We have coach Cooper, and he is the director of football and Player Development here at UNLV. So Coach, welcome to the podcast.

Coach Cooper 0:38
Dr, schedule, I appreciate it. I'm honored to be on the show. And let's talk about UNLV.

Dr. Sammie Scales 0:42
Absolutely. Tell us how. Let's Where did I start off the shows? Tell us how did you end up here at UNLV? Of all places, how did you end up

Coach Cooper 0:49
here? It's a mound story. You know, chances are you find a man on the mountain. He wasn't born there. So I'm a country boy from East Texas. I'm the eighth of 10 kids. My father fought World War Two Korea in Vietnam, passed away when I was 14 years of age. And if anybody know my career, I wore number 14 everywhere that I played, because that's when I became a man and and I and everywhere that I left, that I left that jersey retired because I played for my father, who wasn't, didn't have the luxuries that I did my mother. May el Esther was I made at Best Western in Palestine, Texas for 30 years, and made 13,000 a year. And but she started her kids became educated. So being eight to 10 kids growing up in East Texas, the hard knock life. You know what I mean? We didn't have everything we wanted, but we had everything that we needed. Yeah, we didn't have the best of clothing, but the clothes we had were clean. And so I think East Texas prepared me for my journey. I went on to Trinity Valley Community College. I was the first African American quarterback in the history of junior college, and thought I knew everything, then had figured out, and we'll hear more about that later. And then I transferred to Navarro college down in Corsicana, Texas, a whole 40 miles, and went from first black quarterback to winning a national championship at the junior college division, and after we finished undefeated and went on and graduated from there with a degree in education and came out, I had eight offers coming out of junior college, and UNLV is where I ended up at and the rest is written. You know, I met my wife on campus, raised my kids here, and Las Vegas community has accepted me as one of theirs, and I will forever give back to this community. Well, how long have you been here in Las Vegas all together? 35 years. I got here in 1930 This is the 35th year I got here in 1989 as a quarterback. So I played here 89 and 91 graduated from here and went on to the CFL, played in the NFL, play for a little while, didn't play 15 years in arena football. And this is where I raised my kids up on the west side of Las Vegas in North Las Vegas. And they I was a head coach at Canyon Springs High School and and my kids graduated from there. And you know, I have my I have six kids. I have. My oldest is 38 he's a minister in Texas. My 37 year old works offshore drilling in the oil industry. I have a daughter that graduated University of Texas tower Simone. She's 36 and her and her husband have three kids and and she teaches autism at prisons. And then I have a 30 year old here in the state in the city. She's a nurse over at Sunrise Hospital. My My son is 29 years old. AJ Cooper, he's a linebacker coach at Oregon State. And then I have a daughter Destiny Cooper, who is a leading research analyst on Health and Human Services for the state of Nevada election. Man,

Dr. Sammie Scales 3:23
I am so impressed that six kids, you know what they do, you know you know everything that's,

Coach Cooper 3:30
that's and that's what we're losing in our kids. We have to know what they are and and what they're capable of, and then we have to fertilize that. Well, we fertilize that. That's what aircraft

Dr. Sammie Scales 3:38
I'm definitely impressed that you know their ages as well. So, yeah, that's very impressive. Very impressive. Okay, so what does your new role as director of football player development at UNLV entails, and what impact you do you have? Do you hope to have in that area? Well,

Coach Cooper 3:55
I think it encompasses everything for me, being a player, my experiences, to what I recognize in my players. I'm the assistant athletic director, director football player development, FL liaison and community engagement, and that encompasses everything. That encompasses a guy that that's leaving Houston, Texas or Chicago with all the talent in the world, but don't have that direction. So when they get here, I'm the first guy they meet, and they get to sit down and talk to me, and I learn their story. I learn what their passions are. I know what the talents are. I know what the ability are. So now I have to add accountability, availability, durability. Those are the things that I have to have. And I have to, I want to make that young man whole. I get him for he gets to live by an itinerary for the next 1500 days of his life. Kids like to say years, five years, but when you say 1500 days is not a lot of time, yeah. So, so when you look at it through that lens, I know when they get homesick. I know about six weeks they hit that wall. I know they say they're grown men, until it's time to do a grown men do. And so when you you're looking at the same guys every single day. 110 111 we're telling you when to get up, when to eat, what to eat, how to eat. And we we strengthen conditioning, then we massage. Today, we really. Me, we really set them up to fail, because everything is done for them. They they are staying there, flying on $500,000 flights. They're staying in five star hotels. They eat filet mignon. They don't ever have to pay a co pay, and that's not and they get their laundry done, and that's not the way it is. But those are the those are the luxuries that you have when you're a student athlete on scholarship and get an opportunity to play division one sport. So I'm trying to teach them how to handle that, because, like I said, when they're 1500 days out of the 500,000 collegiate football players, only 1.2% is gonna get an opportunity. 2.6% is gonna get an opportunity to play in the next level. So you got a better chance to become a doctor, a lawyer, win a lottery, you get struck by lightning, then plan in NFL. So I want to help them set up a firm foundation with relationships and through internships and everything that we can in this city to make to make this city safe, because we can put a football in their hand to get them an education, or we can allow them to run the way they run, and then we put bad people in our community, and I choose the first part, and that's to make them responsible man of this community.

Dr. Sammie Scales 5:58
Wow, it sounds like you're doing more than just being a coach over there. Sound like you've been a mentor for some. Sound like you've been a dad for others. Man, that's really impressive, folks. So I know we have a player that came from Utah. Have you got to meet him? Yet? We

Coach Cooper 6:11
have a bunch of Utah who Jalen, oh yeah, Jalen Glover, I meet with. I met with Jalen. Show Jalen how to change his battery week one that he was here, you know? So, um, you know, I lived in Utah for three years and started the Utah Blaze. I have really a lot of good friends there. Jalen Glover was just getting to the city, and He is a talented athlete from Florida. He has a lot of skill set. But, um, Lakeland, Florida, yes, Lakeland. I know, I know the goings brothers from Lakeland. I played with a lot of guys. It's the most talented people in the world. Is in Lake Yeah. And this kid is very, very talented. He we are lucky to have him in our program. And now again, talk about ability. He has ability. Now I want to put that accountability with him and and open doors that he never thought he was. He opened, yeah, yeah.

Dr. Sammie Scales 6:51
He's a great kid. I knew his parents before they were his parents. I've known him for quite, a quite some time here. How long have you been here at UNLV? Coach? So

Coach Cooper 7:00
I, this is my I got to UNLV in 2023 I was let go of San Diego State on Dr King holiday. And then, ironically, two years later, I was the grand marshal in the Dr King parade. So look how God works for you. But I got back here and march 1 was my first day of 2023 and we 23 and 320, 24 we've won more football games in the last 24 months than the history of UNLV football going back to the 70s. Wow, and so, but we've also graduated the most, and we've also had the highest GPA. And so for for me, it's not about winning loses by winning and learning. So we can have 25 guys graduating the class with this today's world is transfer portal. We're doing something right, but Dave Welly and Mike Molina and our academics and everybody in that building are doing things that and holding them to a standard that that's not adjustable. The standard is the standard, and we reach that standard.

Dr. Sammie Scales 7:52
Oh, absolutely. So living in San Diego, it's one thing. Living in San Diego is 82 degrees night and day, no matter what the weather's great. Sunday is a great place to live. So leaving San Diego and coming back here, how did it feel to return to UNLV, I would say, living like with weather that associated to a tropical island and coming here and like living in an oven? Yeah. So what was that like for you?

Coach Cooper 8:16
You're exactly right. 120 degrees, 105 to 82 in marine layer every single day. You know, that's the prettiest part of where I live, downtown, the gas lamp. So I used to run the harbor all the way down to the Midway, you know. So San Diego was beautiful. We had a lot of success there as a football program and as a program in general. And so, you know, coming back to Vegas has always been a dream of mine, and the work and the capacity that I am and a coach, because I was a high school football coach here, I met my wife here, I raised my family here, and I have so many, so many good friends here, and people that I work for Steve when I work for Mr. Michael Gunn, I've worked in this community for so many years. But you're skeptical, or you hesitate, because when my career, the career I had here as a player, was very, very successful, and sometimes you want to lead that the way it is. You don't want to come back and and tamper with that. You don't want to come back and put a black eye on something that you left in good conditions. But I know that this community was invested in me, and I was invested in them. So to come back, I knew I know how to win. And it takes changing of the culture. It takes getting the community involved, and it takes going out and getting people that that that want to have the same success that you want to have. And there you cannot compromise. If I compromise what made me successful, then I'm compromising success of that kid. And so when we came here, we've been able to you, there's a direct correlation between students. You are an athlete, you are lazy in the classroom, you're lazy on the football field. You can't retain transfer information in the classroom. You can't do it on the football field. And if you there's two you either represent or you misrepresent, yeah, and look at and so when you take all the gray area out, and we look for those kids that fit what we wanted to do here, and we've done that, and we've had a chance to. Turn it around, but coming back has always been a plan, and, and one day I want to be in that big seat over there. And, you know, we had no Barry Odom, and now we have Dan Mullen and, and I know my time is going to come, but, um, God, had never put on prepared people, people in prepared places. So I'm gonna keep growing my roots, and eventually I'll get my opportunity.

Dr. Sammie Scales 10:16
Yeah, Dan Mullen is from Mississippi State University. I think he coached stack press got at one, at one from one moment, and MSU is in starksville, and I'm actually from stocks, so my family know all of the guy so you place when you was here at UNLV, you play six different positions here. So how did that versatility shape your approach to coaching now I

Coach Cooper 10:37
think it brought value to the team. I do whatever the team needed. You move stuff out of the way. When you remove self out of the way, man, you can see so much, and that's in your marriage and and that's in that's in being a father. And when my kids are on Facebook, I don't I'm not on Facebook. My kids are at a club. I'm not in that club. If my kids on Instagram, I'm out of the way. I want them to grow and bloom where they are. So for me, I'm growing up in East Texas. I was an all American football and basketball and baseball, and a guy named Pat mahomes Senior was a guy that I beat out so and so down there, man, you you play every sport, because in football, there's 85 scholarships. In basketball, that's 12, and then baseball, that's 25 so my mom didn't have the money to pay for me to go to school, so I versatility is where it's at. And then also it kept you out of trouble. You know, when Football season is over, you play basketball, yeah, the football off season, when basketball is over, you went to track and baseball, or you went to off season. So, and that's the way we've done it. We were able to stay busy and and growing up in East Texas, so we got breakfast and lunch too, and Mama could provide dinner, you know, but for her to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner was a challenge. So, but I thank God for going through that, because it taught me, first and foremost, how to see things through the different lens. Yeah, exactly,

Dr. Sammie Scales 11:45
you know. And often tell people also, you know, the things that we went through, whether it's as a child or adolescent or whatever it is, it has helped shapes the person that you are now, you know. And I'm grateful, and we I was clearly, wasn't raised with a silver spoon in my mouth. So I'm grateful for the things that I have now. I'm grateful for the experiences that I've had. So I think that's an important thing. What lesson do you take from your time in arena football that you apply to your coaching experience today, arena football

Coach Cooper 12:13
taught me how to be a professional. When I got there, I was making $500 a game with $150 win bonus. And I just want if you, if you're a good player, if you're if you're a leader, you're gonna lead no matter what the situation is. You're gonna play hard no matter what situation is, and you're gonna play hard no matter what the money is. And so that's what I did. And so I but I saw what arena football was capable doing. I worked for a great owner, and Jerry Colangelo, at the time, he owned the Phoenix Suns, the Phoenix Coyotes, he owned the Arizona Diamondbacks. He owned all those teams and and I just sort of surrounded with great people and great leadership. So I took some of the things that made them successful, and it was the way they treated people, they did what they said they were going to do, and then to the other thing, they gave great support. And so I went ahead and I became the director. I wanted to start a union. I started the AFL POC. It was Arena Football League organized committee where they couldn't lock us out and we couldn't strike. But I filed an antitrust lawsuit, and could have been named in and got money myself, but I chose to go back and get the people that played before us and get a pension system. And then I said I was making 500 a game. But after I left and got the players union, we had 10 years of labor peace research, all the Right to Work states and workers compensation laws, and then we had 10 years labor piece that had never been done in no major sport. And so all we wanted to do was be able to take care of our families and have health and insurance and a pension, and that's what we were able to get in that time. And the five years after I stepped down, the Arena Football League was sold to CBS ABC Sports and kind of went belly up, but they're trying to come back around now, but it'll never be what it was. And and I went from being making $500 a game to three years, 500,000 with $100,000 signing bonus, we were able to to do what we needed to do, to take care of get people to take care

Dr. Sammie Scales 13:55
of families. Wow, that's excellent. So, so let's circle back a little bit here. So within your title, it says football player development. So what do you do? What? What actually happens on that aspect? Let's talk about their students for a while. You

Coach Cooper 14:08
talk about development. When you talk about developing, you taking people, you take taking people, and you showing them about social injustice. You showing them about voting, what the voting process is and how you got to register with selected service. So you got to teach them things that adults, you know, we can complain about everything, but if you don't vote, you don't have a right to complain about anything, absolutely, because too many people came before us that that sacrificed, you know, their lives. And so for me, to get these kids to see what we're talking about. You talk about civil engagement, you talk about entrepreneurship, you talk about internships. So the development piece for me is to make them to grow to. What is it that you love? What is it that you want to do it? Guy, you know, what does the world need? What do I love? What do I have passion for? And when you find that you'll be successful in anything you choose to do, you know? I mean, so for me, it's my deal. Is about reaching hard to reach young men. That's my gift. And so know, a better sport than 100 and. 12 athletes every day that I get to see, that I get to challenge, teach them what challenge, what challenges them. And I get to teach them that, you know, you know our you know our core values. You know we never disrespect or put our hands on women. You know we do things the right way. So and so many young men that don't have their fathers in their life. So I become that father and so many, and it's tough love too, but I'm not just gonna yell and scream at you. I'm gonna tell you what you've done was wrong. Why was wrong? But then I'm gonna give you solutions and option to handle it moving forward. So what we also we correct, but we don't coerce, and that's what we do, you know? We tell them what they've done was wrong, but we don't give many avenues or options to handle it differently. And like me, you lost your father 14 for eight years. I was mad at God, the only man can teach me how to be a man. You've taken him out of my life. And you God, you know. So I questioned God for eight years, and then right about the time I started questioning God in junior college, you know, man, I'm going to church. I'm on the Black Student Union. I'm in the Baptist Student Union. I'm doing everything you say in your will. My brother's my roommate, and I'm doing everything you ask me to do God. And the harder I try, the harder God. And right about that time, 15 of my best friends were charged with federal crimes and money laundering and racketeering and got 15 years federal prison. And at times I thought God was punishing me, he was protecting me. So I never questioned God since then. Wow,

Dr. Sammie Scales 16:13
that's excellent man. You know, that's a totally different answer than I expected. When I said, What is prayer? Development? I'm thinking football fields, strengthening those kind of things, but this, that was something totally different that I totally didn't expect. So wow, that. And that is development. And those seem like you're teaching them life skills as well, and what it is to actually be a man, and you

Coach Cooper 16:38
have to Doc, because the whole deal, if football ends today, then what exactly am I you can go to Washington State University and catch 15 more balls a year as a receiver. But what is a young brother gonna do in Pullman, Washington when football is over? Wow, they run chainsaws out there. You don't even know how to mow your yard. You don't know how to you got to call triple A to do anything. But if you come I tell the kids out west, they own I 15. You got UCLA, you got USC, you have Utah, you have UNLV. Excuse me, you got all these colleges and institutions that up and down the road and think about what we graduate from college is usually where we grow our roots, and that's why I've been in the city for so many years. So you want to have those resources, you want to have that Alumni Association. You want to have that community that you've been engaging with and everywhere that you were the same people that brought their grandkids to see me play. Nine of grandkids are successful as well. So those relationships go back 35 years, and I don't have to fill out a resume and turn in I get hired by a letter of appointment, because they know what comes with me.

Dr. Sammie Scales 17:38
Wow, that is excellent, man. So with all of these things that you're doing and instilling in these young men, and you know, of course, they're becoming adults at this point, and you've seen some, I'm sure, graduating those kind of things. What are some of the biggest changes that you've seen since your days of playing versus now?

Coach Cooper 17:56
Well, the biggest changes is transfer portal, because they it has minimized NL i, which is the National Letter of Intent, which mean, because I can run fast and jump high, somebody's gonna give me a $250,000 education that my mother could not afford. And so what we do is we minimize that now with n i, L, I'm all for players getting paid and getting the money with their name and their image and their likeness their logo, because it's if a kid wanted to go get a haircut, he couldn't give two tickets to that bar, this trading barter that's been the country was built on that built on that, okay, but if these corporate sponsors for all these games can give away hundreds of $1,000 of tickets, so you can't hold a player to a higher standard than you hold yourself to. And so that came to fruition, and that's what has a $2.7 billion lawsuit that's going to go into Player and Player programs. And so for me, I think the biggest kids have lost the respect of the game. It's always about when you slap your chest back in my day. You were saying, my bad when they slapped their chest this day, and they just saying, it's all me. They're not, they're not looking at the offensive linemen had to block in the quarterback, they had to throw. Yes, they looking at, I caught the ball. You had the easiest part. And then that's, you know? The other thing is, I think we have football buildings. We have a $36 million building. 90% of our kids don't go on campus to class, so they don't get to see somebody from the Middle East. They don't get to see somebody from Africa. They don't get to meet a person that come from Montana, if they're from inner city. So I think what's being lost is, is that the ability to connect with and build relationships with people from Brazil or from some other country. So when you're in the football building, you're gonna have a football mindset. You want to wear Air Force ones Jordans, and you also want to wear, you know, ripped jeans, but, but do you wear that to a job interview? You know, I see kids nowadays because they have n i l money. They go buy a 250 $300 pair of Gucci slides. They're going to wear a side, but they won't, but they won't wear a pair. Put another 250 where they can buy a pair of Gucci shoes, and they can go to a business meeting, they can go to a dinner, they can go to an interview, they can go to a funeral. They don't think like that, but that's and that's my job, to step in and to show them that is bigger than being flashy and having everything. Okay. Okay,

Dr. Sammie Scales 19:56
so who are some of the biggest influences? What. During the time that you were playing as a player and now as a coach.

Coach Cooper 20:04
You know, my father again. My father went to an all black school. They had reading, writing, arithmetic in the same school. My dad was an athlete, but at 18, you know, my dad went off to be in World War Two, Korea, Vietnam. My dad would be 98 years of age. My mother, who who ironed sheets and iron a shirt, but she took so much pride in it, she would starch it, put corn starch in, and then boil the water and then iron that shirt. That shirt would have the creases in it for another dollar. My mom then that sacrificed, my brothers and sisters that sacrificed a little more so that we could have. But it was my high school coach when I lost my father at 14. It was men that saved my life. They were coaches. And if I had $100 million I couldn't repay Carl Saxon. I couldn't repay Paul Talbot. I couldn't repay Bob McElroy, my junior college coach. I couldn't repay those men that came into my life, that saved my life, because I had ability, but I had no accountability, you know? And so they taught me that I could, I could get in somebody's hind parts and do it with class, and then with integrity, and then when I added the character to it. And they taught me how to be a leader. And the one thing about being a leader, you have to follow first. Yeah, and you can learn how to lead by watching what some people do, and watch what what not to do, but, but the other thing is, there's, you know, sweat equity. When I learned how to work hard and win every drill, I learned that I had more ability to lead them because I was doing everything that they couldn't do, and I could help them get to that point if they trusted me. And so when I earned the trust of my teammates, and that's what it's about, every I'm in, I think I'm in five or six Hall of Fames. And all that means is I had good teammates, I had a good soul mate, and then I had real and I was a good teammate. And so when you think about anytime, any kind of accolade that you get again, remove stuff out. It had nothing to do with you, but my greatest fear was letting my teammates now. So I was gonna prepare

Dr. Sammie Scales 21:45
Wow. And that's, you know, pretty much talking about being humble and being grateful. So what piece of advice do you consistently give to your young players now?

Coach Cooper 21:55
I try to tell them that you don't get a second chance to have a first impression everything that you the way that you do anything is the way you do everything. You're not gonna have a clean house and a dirty car exactly. It doesn't work that way, exactly, you know what I mean. So I tell them that you know, everything that you do is your body of work, you know. So I know, when somebody called me about a former player, I know what comes to that player. And the one thing that I won't do is I will mislead nobody. I'm gonna tell them the truth, because they're gonna see it. It's like when I'm talking to NFL scouts. They're they're not. They come in and ask me because they trust me, but at the end of the day, they're just validating their own work. They already seen it on film. They already talked to everybody they need to talk to. They just come to me for validation. And so for me, the game has been too good for me, for me to be misleading to everybody. And so for me, I try to constantly make them aware of that. You know, what are you doing to get better today? What are you doing for other people? Is a question I ask them every day. And so, you know, my mom always said, the things you do for yourself die and go to the grave with it, but the things you do for others to create a legacy that you cannot live. And I'm currently in those days, and ain't because of nothing that I've done. It's because I served other people.

Dr. Sammie Scales 22:57
Wow, man, that is so impactful. There you've coached at pretty much all levels. So when it comes to high school players versus collegiate players, What differences do you see in those two? Well,

Coach Cooper 23:11
with the transfer portal, it's become way different now, because now with a high school kid, I just, I just need to teach him, I need to train him and get him to trust me with with a college player. I got to break all habits. And so I might have six months with that one year with that height, with that college kid. I'm gonna have 60 months with that high school kid. So I want to build a program on high school kids that I can develop, put weight on them the right way. I want to, you know, get them in community service the right way. I want to, you know, teach them about proteins and carbohydrates and how to work out and and, you know, cover what is coming for how many quarters in $1 is four quarters and $1 that's the same concept football. So the again, that go back to the classroom, you know. But if I get a kid that was at Alabama, you know, for four years at another power five school, for four years, he has one year to play, it's about him. It's about him. It's about him getting one more opportunity. He's not coming here to Las Vegas to learn about the battle for the Fremont Canyon. He's not coming here to learn about the great base. He's not coming here to be alumni. He's coming here to do anything he can to get a chance to get to the league, because he did it right those four years. So for me, I'd rather take a new a high school kid and bring him from the ground up, than to take an older kid and then have to break old habits and teach them new ones. Wow,

Dr. Sammie Scales 24:23
excellent. What is your proudest moment as a player and as a coach?

Coach Cooper 24:27
I think it has to be the ultimate. You know, winning the national championship at Navarro after being four and eight at a junior college that didn't believe in your skill set and your mindset, and then God gave you another opportunity, and you do everything, right? You go to bed. When it's time to go to bed, you you're faithful to your girlfriend. And again, it goes back to the way you do anything, you do everything, and you're committed to your teammates and and that that that would and then to to win. You know, my first two years at San Diego State, we won conference championship. My first two years at UNLV, we played and come. First championship. My second year in arena football, we won a national title. My third year, I've been to five national title, world titles in Marina football. So I think anything you do as a champion, you, you, you impact. You, you take that whole thing and you, that's the way you live. You know, it's not just on the football field and I'm a champion. You. You have to be a champion off the field as well. Wow.

Dr. Sammie Scales 25:19
Okay, okay, you were named the fifth greatest player in Arena Football legacy league history. What does that recognition means to you? It

Coach Cooper 25:29
mean I had some great teammates. I had some people that believed in my skill set and my mindset, and like I told you before, I didn't ever want to let my teams and I prepared. I played over 100 plays a game for over 15 years. I missed two games in my professional career because I never wanted to let my teammates now I knew that's how they provided for their families, and I knew that's how I raised my family, my kids, that's how I took care of them. So as a professional, you know that's what you are. You're a pro, and so you know to be in the Arena Football League for 15 years, CFL for two tours, and then one in NFL with the saints. That was a brief stint. But for me, football is football. I just wanted to be able to impact the community. I Secondly, wanted to to be a bright spot in people's lives. And thirdly, I just wanted to be the best teammate I could ever be. And if you have you focus on being the best teammate and playing every game that you play for somebody else, you'll have success in anything you do. Wow,

Dr. Sammie Scales 26:21
that is excellent. So Sunday, this past Sunday night was the Super Bowl she's played against the Eagles. So what are your thoughts on that

Coach Cooper 26:31
game? First thing is, you know, you had two Texas quarterbacks, you know, Pat mahomes from East Texas and and then, you know, Jalen Hurts, you know. And Jalen go back and said he left Alabama, then he went to Oklahoma, and now he's in the NFL. They've been a winner, and that's what I talk about. If you're a winner, you win. You don't matter what, if it's collegiate, if it's an NFC, if it's AFC, you win. Because your habits are designed to give you expect exactly what you get. And so if you're willing to put in the work. And a lot of the boys, I'm 55 years old. I've never been drunk. I heard my life. I don't knock nobody to do it, but that's not something that played into the life of a professional athlete, you know. So I thought that, I thought the Super Bowl, I thought the Eagles would win. I didn't. I didn't think they would hold, say, coin Barkley and under on the yards. But I knew that when you've been to that that big game and you didn't win it, I know the drive to win it is much greater than winning it and trying to win it again. So that's I was, I was really pulling for the Eagles and NFC.

Dr. Sammie Scales 27:28
Yeah. Okay, so what do you think about that halftime show?

Coach Cooper 27:32
You know, I think it's what I tell my kids all the time, is anytime you're on stage, you better perform. And I think, I think he performed. I think he sent a subliminal message. I think he, you know, I think everybody has a way to do that, to get that message across. Mine is through kids. His is through music, and his is through, you know, political I'm not a political guy. Anytime I vote, I voted on issues that affected my mother and my grandkids, because no matter who's in the White House, as long as he's not in my house, I got, I got to take care of my house. But when you look and put things in perspective, as high as mortgages, we got a roof over our head. As high as gas is, we still driving, and as high as food is, we still not going hungry. So that's what I'm grateful for that and that's the way I live. Absolutely.

Dr. Sammie Scales 28:18
Last question for you, if money was not an issue at all. What would you like to see for the football program here at UNLV?

Coach Cooper 28:25
I would like for us to get into that 12 team playoff picture. And because we are the Vegas, we are the sports capital of the world, and then the next year that championship game would be played here, I would like to see Las Vegas, UNLV Running Rebels playing the championship game, and the legislator didn't win

Dr. Sammie Scales 28:41
it. Excellent. And one more question. I said, That was last I actually have one more. What's your best advice for the students here on UNLV campus that are athletes? What's your best advice for student athletes? I

Coach Cooper 28:53
would say, embrace each other. You know, we've been through a lot of tragedy here with what happened on December 6 last year. And you know, it's already been a year. I think we need to embrace each other and our culture and what we do. I look at Lindy LaRock and the way she's winning. I look at football and the way we win, and I saw the aces and implanted team coming here. I saw the Golden Knights come in and win championships. So I think our city is really, really on the verge of something special, and we all have to do our part to make it happen.

Dr. Sammie Scales 29:22
Excellent. Coach Cooper, thank you so very much for being my guest today. Here on let's talk. I really appreciate you coming, and you anytime you want to come, you have an open invitation to come

Coach Cooper 29:31
back and speak with us. Sammy, I'm honored to have been on your show now

Dr. Sammie Scales 29:35
I think. Thank you so much, coach, that's a wrap

Dr. Renee Watson 29:41
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