UNLV is a lightweight institution pretending to be a Tier-1 university. It's programs are mostly mediocre, research activity low, and graduates unimpressive.
There are many California State University campuses and even some California community colleges which are better. Don't even try to compare it to a University of California campus or any other decent public university.
The campus is fairy uninspiring and lacks any truly iconic structures. In terms of sports, basketball is barely relevant any more and the rest of the program is non-existent.