Sept. 26, 2004
LAS VEGAS -
Click Here For Quotes From Robinson Regarding His Retirement
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UNLV football head coach John Robinson announced Sunday that he will retire at the end of the 2004 season.
Robinson, 69, had another year remaining on his contract but family health issues along with the Rebels' unexpected 0-4 start to the season led to his decision to announce that his illustrious coaching career will end this fall.
"I just feel like it's time," Robinson said. "I've been thinking about it for a while for two major reasons. There are some on-going health issues in my family that are not going away. And obviously there is a pressure building up on this team surrounding all of this. By announcing this now, hopefully I can take some of that away and let our team and especially our seniors, think about the next seven games and beyond. It will be good for the program to move forward."
Robinson, who is the most successful bowl-game coach in college football history with a winning percentage of .889 (8-1), currently sits as the 18th-winningest active coach in Division I-A at .641.
"I want to thank John Robinson for coming to UNLV and bringing such credibility to our football program over the last six years," UNLV President Dr. Carol Harter said. "He is a wonderful coach and person and I feel grateful that he ended such a prestigious career here on our campus."
Hired on Dec. 3, 1998, Robinson quickly turned around the fortunes of a program that had lost 16 consecutive games. He added the duties of director of athletics for UNLV on Jan. 1, 2002, and successfully served in the dual role for 17 months until stepping down as AD on May 20, 2003. Robinson remains two wins shy of becoming the school's all-time second-winningest coach and this fall tied Tony Knap (1976-81) for longest-serving UNLV head man at six seasons apiece.
"I appreciate everything that John Robinson has done for this program," UNLV Director of Athletics Mike Hamrick said. "I learned a great deal from coach and it has been a privilege and honor to work with him over the past year. I will now immediately start the initial phase of finding the ninth head coach in UNLV football history."
Including two separate stints coaching Southern California, Robinson's career college record is 130-72-4 (.641) and his UNLV mark stands at 26-37. He also totaled a 79-74 record with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams from 1983-91, which included two trips to the NFC Championship game. The 1979 national college coach of the year led the 1978 Trojans to the national championship. He was named 2000 Mountain West Conference Co-Coach of the Year after leading UNLV to an 8-5 record and a Las Vegas Bowl victory over Arkansas. Overall, Robinson has tutored 25 first team All-Americans, 22 NFL first-round selections and 92 NFL draft picks.
