December 3, 1998
LAS VEGAS - Famed football coach John Robinson has been hired as the eighth head coach in Rebel history, UNLV President Dr. Carol C. Harter announced Thursday.
"The hiring of John Robinson should be proof positive that UNLV is committed to its football program and is serious about its membership in the Mountain West Conference," Harter said.
UNLV Director of Athletics Charles Cavagnaro offered his recommendation of Robinson to Harter. "I have been genuinely impressed by Coach Robinsons enthusiasm about the task at hand," Cavagnaro said. "When you hear about his vision of UNLV football, you will join me in being enthusiastic about our future as a program."
Robinson, 63, will head into the 1999 season as the nation's sixth-winningest active coach with a career record of 104-35-4 for a percentage of .738.
Robinson, who earned his 100th career victory at the University of Southern California in 1997 with a win vs. UNLV, had two stints with the Trojans. He first became head coach in 1976 and spent seven years leading Troy, including winning the 1978 national championship.
The native of Daly City, Calif., headed to the NFL in 1983 and coached the Los Angeles Rams until 1991. His nine years in the NFL produced six playoff appearances, including two trips to the NFC championship game (1985 & '89).
In 1992 he worked as a television analyst before returning to USC for the 1993 season. His second term lasted until 1997 and featured three bowl victories, including the Rose Bowl title over Northwestern following the 1995 season.
The 1976 National Coach of the Year and two-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1976 & '78) takes over for Jeff Horton who was reassigned after coaching UNLV for five seasons.
Robinson holds a 7-1 postseason record, including 4-0 in the Rose Bowl. He produced two Heisman Trophy winners in Charles White (1979) and Marcus Allen (1981) and one Lombardi Award winner in Brad Budde (1979). He won 82 percent of his games (67-14-2) in his original seven seasons (1976-82) at USC, averaging nearly 10 victories per year. He won the national title in 1978 with a 12-1 mark and two of his Trojan teams (1976 & 1979) finished the season ranked No. 2.
Born on July 25, 1935, Robinson is a 1958 graduate of the University of Oregon. He has four grown children, daughters Teresa and Lynn and sons David (an assistant football coach at the College of the Desert in Palm Springs) and Christopher, and two step-daughters Karilyn and Elizabeth. He is married to wife Linda.
JOHN ROBINSON'S HEAD COACHING RECORD
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAYEAR W L T CONF FIN BOWL 1976 11 1 0 1st Rose Win1977 8 4 0 2nd Bluebonnet Win 1978 12 1 0 1st Rose Win 1979 11 0 1 1st Rose Win1980 8 2 1 3rd No Bowl 1981 9 3 0 2nd Fiesta Loss 1982 8 3 0 3rd No Bowl 1993 8 5 0 T1st Freedom Win 1994 8 3 1 T2nd Cotton Win 1995 9 2 1 T1st Rose Win1996 6 6 0 5th No Bowl1997 6 5 0 T5th No Bowl 12 Yrs 104 35 4 (.738)
LOS ANGELES RAMSYEAR W L DIV FIN PLAYOFFS1983 9 7 2nd Lost First Round1984 10 6 2nd Lost Wild Card1985 11 5 1st Lost NFC Championship1986 10 6 2nd Lost First Round1987 6 9 3rd None1988 10 6 2nd Lost First Round1989 11 5 2nd Lost NFC Championship1990 5 11 3rd None1991 3 13 4th None9 Yrs 79 74 (.516)
ROBINSON COACHING HONORS
-1976 Pac-8 and West Coast Coach of the Year
-1978 Pac-10 and West Coast Coach of the Year
-1979 National Coach of the Year
WINNINGEST ACTIVE DIVISION I-A COACHES (INCLUDES 1998)(Minimum five years as Division I-A head coach) COACH COLLEGE YEARS RECORD PCTPhillip Fulmer Tennessee 7 65-11-0 .855 Joe Paterno Penn State 33 306-80-3 .790Steve Spurrier Florida 12 112-31-2 .785Bobby Bowden Florida St.33 292-84-2 .775R.C. Slocum Texas A&M 10 93-27-2 .770John Robinson UNLV 11 104-35-4 .738
UNLV ALL-TIME HEAD COACHESJohn Robinson 1999-Jeff Horton 1994-98Jim Strong 1990-93Wayne Nunnely 1986-89Harvey Hyde 1982-85Tony Knap 1976-81Ron Meyer 1973-75Bill Ireland 1968-72
