RENO, Nev. – At Reno-Tahoe International Airport, five million annual travelers pass a towering 20-foot bronze skier. Titled Giant Slalom and sculpted by Douglas Van Howd in 1996, the statue honors the University of Nevada’s ski teams, which produced four Olympians, five national titles, and 39 All-America honors. Ironically, the statue was installed in 2012—two years after the university cut its NCAA ski program for the second time.

That irony was not lost on former Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, who became university president in 2020. When the university absorbed Sierra Nevada University in 2022, Sandoval seized the moment to revive collegiate skiing. He announced that Nevada would preserve SNU’s ski team, the Goliaths, and compete on the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) circuit. It marked the sport’s return to the university’s NCAA lineup.

“With today’s announcement, we honor the outstanding legacy of our past Wolf Pack ski teams and commit to the promise of an exciting future,” Sandoval said.

Following a coaching departure, Nevada hired Cameron Smith to lead the team forward. Backed by local talent, community support, and renewed university commitment, Nevada skiing looks poised for lasting success.

At the 2023 Ski Ball fundraiser, attended by 500 supporters and Olympians, Athletic Director Stephanie Rempe laid out an ambitious goal: winning a national championship—something no Nevada team has ever done, though skiing came closest decades ago.

Nevada’s ski program was founded in 1936 by students Wayne Poulsen and Martin Arrouge. Poulsen, a Far West jumping champion, competed across all skiing disciplines and coached the team after graduating. In 1939, the team beat perennial powerhouse University of Washington to win the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate title—then considered a national victory despite the absence of a formal governing body.

The university supported the Nevada Winter Carnival, held on Mt. Rose, which became a key stop on the Pacific collegiate circuit. Poulsen went on to install a lift at Mt. Rose and later develop Squaw Valley (now Palisades Tahoe), shaping the region’s ski culture.

Reno native Dodie Post, who raced for Nevada from 1942–47, became the first Nevadan Olympian and later captained the 1948 U.S. team. The university hosted the inaugural NCAA Skiing Championships in 1954, where Nevada’s Pat Myers claimed the downhill title.

Over the years, Nevada produced influential figures like Dick Dorworth, who broke the speed skiing world record in 1963, and Glenn Jobe, who competed in the 1980 Olympics and developed Nordic ski trails across Tahoe.

Despite its legacy, Nevada’s ski program never matched the resources or consistency of elite programs. Future Olympians like Jimmie Heuga and Spider Sabich opted for more prominent programs at Colorado or Denver. Financial constraints, internal friction, and lack of institutional priority kept skiing on the margins.

College skiing changed dramatically in the latter half of the 20th century. Title IX brought gender equity mandates and new financial pressures. Ski jumping was dropped in 1980; downhill was replaced by giant slalom in 1976. With U.S. Ski Team opportunities and professional circuits beckoning, NCAA racing lost prestige. Programs folded—Denver, despite 14 titles, cut skiing in 1983; Nevada followed suit in 1987.

Still, Nevada’s ski community wouldn’t let the program die. Boosters formed a nonprofit, helped fund a club team, and staged high-profile fundraisers. In 1993, a $50,000 donation from the Killebrew family launched a campaign that reinstated the NCAA program by 1995. College skiing was resurging—races gained FIS sanctioning, attracting top international athletes.

Nevada’s roster included standout performers like four-time Nordic champion Katerina Hanusova and 2002 GS champ Tommi Viirret. From 2001–2009, the team consistently placed in the top half at nationals. Yet in 2010, amid the Great Recession, the program was again cut.

When President Sandoval gave the go-ahead in 2022, former athletes and boosters were ready. Among them were Zach Fretz, who skied for Nevada when the team was disbanded, and Nick Cohee, a top junior from Tahoe who had hoped to race for the Wolf Pack before going to Utah instead.

Together, they helped raise $100,000 at the 2022 Ski Ball, reconnected with donors, and rebuilt ties with Tahoe’s ski community. Losing high-level racing had affected youth development in the region—rebuilding that pipeline became a shared mission.

Now, with full university backing, the program is on firm footing. Rempe, who joined as AD during the SNU merger, has championed skiing from the start. “It’s almost egregious not to have skiing,” she says. “It’s part of the culture here. It’s part of the economy.”

Nevada’s proximity to world-class ski areas, paired with NCAA skiing’s rising influence—17 NCAA grads competed on the World Cup last season—positions the team for success. Local Olympian Bill Hudson says UNR’s presence has already boosted youth enthusiasm at Palisades Tahoe.

Coach Smith is building a 16-skier roster and plans to recruit two men and two women this year. For Nevada to contend for a national title, it must also field a Nordic team. A full Alpine and Nordic program costs $1.4 million annually, with $800,000 in outside support still needed.

Thanks to the Killebrew family’s $400,000 endowment—still the team’s largest—the foundation is in place. Smith is optimistic: the Western Undergraduate Exchange program allows for affordable out-of-state recruitment from skiing hotspots. “It’s a huge opportunity,” he says. “You could grow a team—an American team—very fast.”

Rempe notes that 80% of current U.S. Olympians came through college programs. “There’s nothing that duplicates the life lessons you learn from sports, especially college sports,” she says. “The fact that skiing fits so well in this community—it’s a no-brainer.”

At the airport, the bronze skier still carves its eternal turn, a tribute to Nevada’s skiing legacy. With fresh energy and determined leadership, the Wolf Pack is once again chasing greatness—and this time, the finish line is within sight.

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This article is reprinted from Skiing History magazine which is published by the International Skiing History Association. ISHA is a nonprofit which relies on membership and donations to support its research and publication of Skiing History. The author, Edith Thys Morgan, is a freelance writer and  two time Olympian who grew up racing in the Lake Tahoe area.