From attorney to fundraiser, founder to coach, father to fisherman, Lyle Rivera was an observant, kind man who identified needs and valiantly stepped up to fill them, drawing on his expertise, skills, intelligence, and immense heart.
The esteemed creator of the UNLV Foundation and former university general counsel passed away in January and was honored at the Foundation’s annual gala this week. The many roles he played in Las Vegas — in the community, at UNLV, and with his friends and family — took him on a rich and complex life journey, filled with achievement and admiration.
Interim UNLV Foundation President Bo Bernhard, who Rivera coached as a child, remembers him as a committed soccer coach who rushed from his big university job to patiently lead a group of 10 year olds to victory.
Rivera's family remembers “Grandpa Rascal,” who never spoke badly of others, playfully teased his grandchildren, and mastered fly fishing.
Friends and colleagues remember an accomplished attorney and innovative leader who helped shape the university and city into what it is today.
Rivera is credited with so many of UNLV’s significant advancements, said Sig Rogich, former U.S. ambassador and president and CEO of Rogich Communications Group. Their friendship spanned more than 65 years.
“He tirelessly built the university brand and reputation both academically and athletically on the national stage during his years as vice president for development and university relations,” Rogich said. “He simply loved UNLV …and I am not sure we can even quantify the impact his legacy has had on our students, faculty, staff, and even more, our entire community.
“We will miss his infectious smile, friendship, loyalty, and deep sense of propriety.”
Growing Up Vegas
Rivera was born on Nov. 22, 1942, in Salt Lake City, Utah, but moved to Las Vegas at age 2 after his parents divorced. His mother was single then and worked as a cocktail waitress at the Golden Nugget. Rivera learned to negotiate the fledgling city, taking advantage of every opportunity to pursue his education and goals, said his wife, Mary Ann “Timbuck” Rivera.
“Lyle had a tough upbringing,” she said. After his mother remarried, his stepfather changed the family name to Rivera. His parents weren’t educated but Rivera wanted more.
“He had no money, he worked his way through everything,” Timbuck said. “In this town, you could make a difference. He was a leader, and he expected a lot of himself.”
Rivera attended Las Vegas High School, excelling academically and athletically, particularly in track and field. In his senior year, he was chosen to represent Nevada at Boys State in Washington, D.C.
He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in history at the University of Nevada, Reno and served as president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After marrying Timbuck in 1967, the two packed up for Utah, where Rivera attained his law degree at the University of Utah with his wife's support. They then returned home to Vegas and started their family. The couple had three children: Matthew, David, and Anne.
Rivera was a devoted and present father, coaching his kids in soccer and T-ball alongside former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. Timbuck remembers how she and Carolyn Goodman would warm the kids up for T-ball as they waited for their husbands to get to practice after work. Both Rivera sons went on to win college scholarships in tennis.
Bo Bernhard said Rivera coached his “powerhouse youth soccer team” at John S. Park Elementary, the same school Rivera attended. “He was super generous. He was the nice coach. Back then, coaches were yellers. He was not.”
Bernhard went on to play soccer and baseball at Harvard University, before returning to UNLV to pursue his doctorate and build an academic career in gaming studies and economic development. He now oversees the same UNLV Foundation that Rivera established.
“I would see Lyle from time to time at UNLV events over the years and he was exactly the same,” Bernhard said. “Incredibly generous and kind.”
Building a Real University
After law school, Rivera worked as a partner in a Las Vegas firm. In 1969, he joined the Clark County District Attorney's Office and served as Nevada's chief deputy attorney general from 1971 to 1979.
He joined UNLV as chief development officer and assistant general counsel for the university system statewide, taking a pay cut because he loved the mission, his wife said.
Rivera observed that the university needed a foundation to grow. In 1980, after a conversation with Las Vegas attorney Louis Weiner, Rivera helped establish UNLV’s new foundation. At its first meeting in 1981, the organization’s board elected Rivera to serve as chief advisor. In 1984, he became UNLV's vice president for development and university relations, leading the Foundation until 1995.
Rivera brought his relationships with the city’s movers and shakers to his fundraising work. It helped that Vegas was still a “small town” and that he’d run the attorney general’s office, he told UNLV oral historian Claytee White in a 2007 interview.
“And so, we were able to get the Perry Thomases of the world, the Macks, the Beckers, the Art Hams,” Rivera said, referring to Las Vegas philanthropists who contributed substantially to UNLV's development. “Virtually all of them were thrilled to be on it. They wanted to be a part of the university, but they also loved the status of it. But they deserved the status because they had to put in the time and the effort. We ultimately did extremely well with that foundation model.”
Rivera also convinced Marjorie Barrick to start the Barrick Lecture Series, which Timbuck always attended with the benefactor. “Lyle told Marje, ‘Every university needs a lecture series; it puts you on the map.’ She wanted to do something where she would be remembered,” Timbuck said.
Rivera was also instrumental in recruiting legendary coach Jerry Tarkanian to the Runnin’ Rebels basketball program and helped bring the Nationals Finals Rodeo to Las Vegas.
When the university was looking for a basketball coach, a friend told him about Tarkanian, Rivera remembered. He pushed Tarkanian’s name forward, but it took a few years to make it happen.
“So, he (Tarkanian) was beating everybody,” Rivera said. “So now people kind of had an idea who he was. We got him to come here. And he was just the most fabulous coach you ever saw in your life. He was here three years, and he was already in the Final Four.”
“And the fundraising… it made it so much easier. I mean it was like night and day. His basketball team really put UNLV on the map.”
Rivera went on to plan and faise funds for what is now the William S. Boyd School of Law and also served as a founding member and first president of the International Association of Gaming Attorneys. He retired from UNLV in 1997.
A Gift to Las Vegas
Colleagues say Rivera's impact on UNLV and Southern Nevada was profound and long-lasting, helping UNLV mature into a thriving research university.
Sig Rogich credited his friend for so many accomplishments, from building the UNLV Foundation to launching a prestigious lecture series, creating the state’s first law school to supporting a legendary basketball program. “Lyle humbly and quietly dedicated himself to UNLV,” he said.
After retirement, Rivera kept working, using his real estate license to continue his longtime practice of investing in properties, Timbuck said. But his greatest love was fishing in Sun Valley, Idaho, where they had a property for 40 years. “He became a master fly fisherman.”
Always passionate about politics, he was beloved and respected by his neighbors, even when they didn’t agree, she said.
“They had no idea about his accomplishments because he never bragged. But when he spoke, they listened to him. He had such a thing for knowledge. He could cite his sources.”
For Bernhard, who experienced Rivera as a coach, mentor, and model as he walks in his footsteps, Rivera's life serves as a roadmap for kind, inventive, can-do leadership. It’s a full-circle moment.
“This story, of course, epitomizes so well what Las Vegans have so often done: Recognize a need and, unburdened by long histories that older cities wear like a badge of honor, they get things done,” Bernhard said. “What resulted are hundreds of kids, like me, getting transformative opportunities. And things like UNLV, the Smith Center, and our status as a sports city — all things that were dreamed of, and that folks like Lyle Rivera achieved. What a gift."
