LAS VEGAS — Dan Mullen spent a decade at Mississippi State battling the Rebels. Now he is a Rebel.

Mullen, the former Mississippi State football coach, was hired Thursday to lead UNLV’s program. Unlike his time in Starkville, when he antagonized the Ole Miss Rebels, he’ll try to lead UNLV’s Rebels to a Mountain West Conference championship and the College Football Playoff.

UNLV was 19-8 in the past two seasons under Barry Odom, who left to become the head coach at Purdue. UNLV is 10-3 this season and reached the Mountain West championship game. It will play California in the LA Bowl on Dec. 18.

“I am very excited to be a part of the UNLV family,” Mullen said in a statement. “These past two years, a foundation has been set to compete for championships, including being just one game away from making the College Football Playoff, which is a great testament to where we plan on continuing to be. My expectation is to keep that excitement and momentum alive and produce a team for the University, the City of Las Vegas and the State of Nevada that is going to compete for championships on a regular basis.

The 52-year-old Mullen has a 103-61 career record from his time at Mississippi State and Florida. He coached Mississippi State from 2009-17 and guided them to seven consecutive bowl games. The Bulldogs were also ranked No. 1 during the 2014 season, when Mullen was the National College Football Coach of the Year and Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year.

Mullen went to Florida from 2018-21 and, after winning 21 games in his first two seasons, went just 13-10 the last two and was fired.

Mullen has spent the past three seasons working as a TV analyst for ESPN’s college football coverage.