LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- As Bronco Mendenhall ascended the steps at the ESPN Zone with his three children for a reception inside the New York New York hotel and casino, Tina Kunzer-Murphy was there to greet them by first name.

"There is some familiarity," said Kunzer-Murphy, who as executive director of the Las Vegas Bowl welcomed the Brigham Young University football team to town Wednesday night for the fourth time -- with Mendenhall as Cougar head coach.

"They're just so delightful," she said of the Cougars. "For me, it's very comfortable and I really like that. I think our (bowl) committee feels the same way. We're really comfortable having BYU here."

Kunzer-Murphy hopes her guests share that sentiment.

It was former BYU head coach LaVell Edwards who joked that when attending the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, "BYU fans would bring a $50 bill and the Ten Commandments and never break either one of them." While the extent to which the coach's quip is true may be debatable, inviting BYU and its almost exclusively Mormon following to a bowl game is certainly a unique proposition.

In Las Vegas, however, two seemingly disparate cultures appear to be melding well.

This is the fourth consecutive season in which the football team from BYU, a school owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has spent bowl week in Las Vegas, a city identified by its gaming and nightlife. The tenets of the LDS Church, meanwhile, forbid gambling, alcohol and tobacco consumption, and premarital or extramarital sex.

The atmosphere around the bowl events is unmistakably Vegas -- from the slot machines and Elvis impersonator at New York New York to David Hasselhoff being scheduled to sing the national anthem on Saturday. At the same time, Kunzer-Murphy, a Las Vegas native who attended college in Cedar City, Utah, and has many LDS friends, said she endeavors to make sure the visitors feel at ease. In the case of BYU, that means taking into account Mormon culture and beliefs.

"What I try to do is make sure that the players have a great time here and are comfortable," she said. "We're aware of it. I don't know if we do anything different, but it's definitely a different culture, and I think everybody in Las Vegas is aware of it and we try to accommodate.

"I don't want them to be uncomfortable. I want everybody to have a good time, so I'd like to think that people think we adjust to make them feel comfortable here in a city that's known for gaming and things that, you know, are not part of (LDS) culture."

Duff Tittle knows that BYU is a unique guest to accommodate, whether it's nonsmoking rooms or large groups of children. But the school's associate athletic director praised the efforts of the Las Vegas Bowl.

"They've been great," he said.

Tittle recognized hints of BYU's distinct characteristics when he made his first postseason trip as a member of the Cougar staff to the Cotton Bowl, in Dallas, Texas, 12 years ago. There, he heard one bowl employee remark about counting 32 strollers and never seeing so many children in her life.

"Between our coaches, administration and players who have children, we're moving a small city," Tittle said.

Families accompany BYU's players and coaches for postseason games, and the Las Vegas Bowl plans activities that cater to both children and spouses. On Thursday afternoon, there was a shopping spree and luncheon for the spouses and a movie showing for the kids. Both Kunzer-Murphy and Tittle referenced the bowl's efforts to accommodate the large numbers that come with BYU.

Kunzer-Murphy said the welcome reception, where players eat, play games and engage in pie-eating contests and dance competitions, is one of her favorite events.

"I think we try to do things like this that are great for the players," she said. "We've adjusted. I don't think we have the answers to everything, but I think we take it into account and try to treat all the players well and respect their beliefs, whatever they may be."

The fact that BYU is here again is at least anecdotal evidence that the relationship is mutually beneficial. With conference champion Utah securing an automatic BCS bid, bowl officials again elected to invite the Cougars, who finished third in the Mountain West standings.

When BYU made its first appearance in 2005, the Las Vegas Bowl set a new high mark for attendance with 40,053 fans. The following year, the BYU-Oregon contest drew 44,615, Nevada's largest-ever crowd for a team sporting event.

The Las Vegas Bowl media notes refer to research conducted by R&R Partners concluding that the 2007 game between BYU and UCLA attracted 31,000 visitors, filled 18,150 room nights and had a "non-gaming impact" of $15.1 million.

"Our fans have been awesome," Tittle said. "They've supported this bowl."

Tittle sees parallels between this event and the Holiday Bowl in the late '70s and early '80s, when BYU made seven straight appearances in San Diego.
"It just felt like that bowl was getting better and better," he said. "It feels like that here."

The Las Vegas Bowl, now in year No. 17, is a comparatively young bowl, Kunzer-Murphy said. As such, officials are seeking to improve the event, and playing host to a unique institution like BYU affords them that opportunity.

"Every year we try to do little things that improve it," Kunzer-Murphy said. "And by having BYU here and a different mind-set, I think we really learn from having (them) here.

"Our focus is always on the players. How do we take care of them? How do we make it better for them? We don't have it perfect, but we sure work hard at it."

E-MAIL: ashill@desnews.com