Former UNLV coach John Robinson elected to college football HOF

By Ryan Greene

Thursday, April 30, 2009 | 10:24 a.m.

John Robinson on Thursday was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, which makes the former UNLV coach the first player or coach associated with the Rebels program to be enshrined.

Robinson was one of 16 inductees selected off of a 76-member ballot.

The 2009 class will be inducted at the National Football Foundation's annual awards dinner scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 8, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The official enshrinement will take place in the summer of 2010 in South Bend, Ind.

"I'm very excited about the honor," Robinson said. "It's times like these that you start thinking about all of the people you owe thanks to through the years. All of the assistant coaches -- I had so many good ones that went on to great careers -- and of course the players. Not necessarily the big stars, but also the guys who just played football for you and may have benefited from the experience. When I am out and some guys comes up and says he was our third-string center 30 years ago, those kind of things are even more meaningful now. From your own coaches when you were a kid on the playground to all of the people who helped along the way during your career, it’s a nice feeling to take some time and look back and be thankful."

This was Robinson's second time making the finalist ballot. Eligibility for coaches consists of 10 years in the game, 100 games, at least 60 percent of their games won and be retired from coaching for at least three years or be active coaches and at least 75 years old.

UNLV was Robinson's final stop in a lengthy and successful career. He was at Southern Cal from 1976-82, then with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL from 1983-91. He headed back to USC from 1993-97, then coached the Rebels from 1999-2004, where he was 28-42, including a trip to the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl.