Where credit is due

Ron Kantowski explains why former UNLV coach John Robinson belongs in the hall of fame

Sam Morris / FILE PHOTO

John Robinson argues a penalty in the closing minutes of UNLV’s loss to Colorado State in 2003.

Mon, May 12, 2008 (2 a.m.)

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It has been four years since John Robinson coached the UNLV football team and Mike Sanford, the current UNLV coach, is still blaming him for what’s wrong with it. But hey, what are friends for? When Sanford took the job, he claimed he and Robinson were best buds.

Last week, when UNLV lost a football scholarship because of a subpar NCAA Academic Progress Rate, Sanford basically said it was because the players he inherited from Robinson four years ago were a bunch of dummies. UNLV’s APR in Robinson’s last year was 889; now it’s 905. Last year it supposedly was above 950. So how is this Robinson’s fault?

Anyway, that’s not what this is about. What this is mostly about is Robinson being bypassed for the College Football Hall of Fame for John Cooper. As an acquaintance who knows more about college football than I do — he went to Florida — so aptly put it, “Cooper over Robinson is a real head-scratcher.”

Cooper’s claim to (the hall of) fame was beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl when he was at Arizona State. Like that’s hard to do. Too bad he couldn’t do it at Ohio State. He was 2-10-1 against the Wolverines and never won an outright Big Ten title. His record in bowl games was a similarly dismal 3-7. Moreover, he nearly turned The Ohio State University into the Ohio State Penitentiary.

He ultimately was forced to resign one of the best jobs in the land amid his players’ academic and discipline problems.

Cooper’s career coaching record is 192-84-6; Robinson’s is 132-77-4. But Robinson didn’t get to play Indiana every year. His USC teams won four Rose Bowls (two more than Cooper) and the 1978 national championship (one more than Cooper).

And Cooper didn’t coach UNLV.

If Halls of Fame and such meant anything to Robinson, he never would have agreed to take over a UNLV football program that was 0-11 the year before and hadn’t won a football game since leather helmets were in vogue. (Actually, it was 16 consecutive losses, 26 in a row on the road.) And Mike Sanford thinks he inherited a mess.

Robinson’s six-year record at UNLV was 28-42-0. He won more games than any other coach in UNLV’s football history, other than Tony Knap. Yet I would be willing to bet that the only thing keeping him out of South Bend (not quite the same ring as Cooperstown or Canton now, is it?) is his record here.

I beg to differ. I think what he accomplished here merits induction into the College Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Granted, there were times when I got bored with all those off-tackle runs, too. But, hey, at least it was his offense. He won his share of games and was competitive in a lot of the others. He beat a team from the big, bad Big Ten that was ranked No. 14 in the land. At their place. In front of 78,043 fans. By three touchdowns.

Two years after the Rebels were 0-11, they were 8-5 under Robinson. They won a bowl game. They destroyed Arkansas, 31-14. If you were there, you remember it well. Robinson took his reputation and a couple of Pac-10 rejects and a bunch of guys who tried hard to block and tackle and threw it all into a helmet on a chilly December evening. He made magic that night.

It didn’t last. It rarely does. But the press box on top of Sam Boyd Stadium has lasted. The field turf is still there. The state of the art practice field has held up well. Were it not for Robinson, UNLV probably wouldn’t have any of those things.

Robinson also brought something to the football program that can’t be measured in wins and losses and luxury boxes on the 50-yard line. He brought it instant credibility.

When Mike Sanford restores it, he can blame John Robinson for low graduation rates and a losing mentality and the high price of gas and anything else he wants.

Discussion: 6 comments so far…

By true_rebel_fan

5/11/08 at 4:21 p.m.

Suggest removal

Coach Sanford is a BUM!! Who in the world wants this guy around? Last year I made it a point not to re-new my 11 season tickets. Oh yeah, didn't tell you there's only 5 people in my family, so I had to bring new people to each game. I couldn't handle the shame of the coach and lack of effort the program is showing. Coach, please prove me wrong.....
By BringtheRain

5/12/08 at 7:42 a.m.

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Robinson went 5-1 against UNR and 2-4 against BYU (losing two of those games by less than a touchdown, and one in overtime).

Vs. UNR, UNLV is 0-3 since (and was 1-10 in the 11 years prior). And Robinson's wins were 2 of UNLV's 3 victories all time against the Old Men from Provo.

He may not have won much, but he won the ones that mattered...
By homer

5/12/08 at 9:59 a.m.

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Let's get it straight everyone would like to have the USC program and all that goes with it to get us maximum attention, and let's understand not all of the 'all that goes' with it is legal.
Robinson is lucky to be where he is at let alone having his name at South Bend. UNLV is a dead program at a university that has so many problems the right thing to do is tear it down and start over. Is it a real university? Don't think so.
By Richard

5/12/08 at 2:07 p.m.

Suggest removal

John Robinson may deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. I imagine he will. But that is no reason to slander John Cooper. He had a credible record at AZ State and also at Ohio State, a big time school (and the legitimate "Scarlet & Gray" by the way). He was an excellent recruiter and his teams won most of their games in their conferences. His inability to beat Michigan was his downfall, but he brought Ohio State back to prominence after the departure of Woody Hayes and the so so reign of Earle Bruce.
He belongs in the Hall as does John R. Ultimately, who cares who went first?
By revbobdobbs

5/12/08 at 9:22 p.m.

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Wow. People feel compelled to comment on a story about an academically challenged, third rate football program?

Stick to basketball and let football ride the coat tails.
By lochlannmatt

5/23/08 at 10:52 a.m.

Suggest removal

I was under John fall '80/spring '81. He was very personable but i think he did an injustice to his legacy by having real sick people as assistant coaches...Marv Goux, Don Lindsey and a few others that fell into line under these two.
Goux knocked players around. If he was coaching now and did what he did to me and others (no doubt) he would have a broken nose and a lawsuit so far up yonder he'd need a telescope to get it out, that little puke. Its a diffrent culture now...you just dont humiliate and/or hit players now. If you do a lawsuit is very possible.
As for Def- coordinater Lindsey...what a sick dude. He was sadistic, at best.
Combine that with noisy living conditions, cramped, shared living quarters, no $ for going against 1st string giants (Matthews, Mosbar, Van Horn, Ray Foster...) who would then on weekends turn around and battle for the national championship... I suppose there's SO many inner-city guys that think thats a good deal but it made no sense to me to stay around.
Interesting to note how many recognizable coaches and players were on that team.
I hope 18 yr old players and up can get out of playing for free some day.

Matt McLaughlin
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