LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – Rick Down, a former UNLV baseball assistant coach, died Saturday in Las Vegas. He was 68.
 
Down coached at UNLV from 1979-84 under Rebel Hall of Famer Fred Dallimore. In his six years with the baseball program, the Scarlet & Gray posted six straight winning seasons and a total of 244 victories, including a team-best 53 wins during the 1980 campaign. The squad made the NCAA Tournament three times (1980, 1981 and 1984).
 
Under his tutelage, the Rebels had three players earn First Team All-America status and nine drafted by MLB squads.
 
"He had unbelievable knowledge and good teaching skills," Dallimore told to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Ron Kantowski. "But the biggest asset he had to me as a head coach was his loyalty. I only had two main assistant coaches of all the years I was in Vegas. Rick Down and Rod Soesbee. There wasn't much turnover. He was just a great baseball guy. Rick made us better."
 
Down made his way to Las Vegas following an eight-year minor league career, which spanned 1969-78. The Michigan native, who was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1969 MLB Amateur Draft, played a total of 801 games with 629 hits and a .255 batting average. His playing career concluded in 1978 with stints with San Jose (AAA) and Stockton (A).
 
Down returned to the professional ranks after his tenure at UNLV. He coached a total of 27 years at the major and minor league level. He spent time as a hitting coach with the Dodgers, Mets, Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees. For four years (1989-92), he served as manager for the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Yankees, and led the to three consecutive division titles and a franchise-best 95 wins in 1992.