UNLV's Robinson To Retire At Season's End

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.

"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 ongoing 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.

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.

Hired in December 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 in January 2002, and successfully served in the dual role for 17 months until stepping down as AD on May 20, 2003.

Verbatim from www.nbc10.com