Columnist Ron Kantowski: Will new hat fit Robinson?

Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001 | 10:31 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's column appears Thursday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

If I'm reading my tea leaves right and nobody has let Don King near my Ouija board in the past 48 hours, John Robinson should be shopping for a new nameplate for the front of his desk by now.

Heading into today's Board of Regents meeting in Reno, Robinson's appointment to the dual position of head football coach/athletic director at UNLV appeared, well, semi-certain.

In that Robinson was to address the regents himself, it wouldn't be surprising if he also has their jobs by now. The guy, plain and simple, is a charmer. His people skills will serve him well when he begins pounding the pavement with helmet in hand, seeking the donations, sponsorships and endowments that are the lifeblood of any major college athletic program.

Unlike Robinson's coaching khakis, it seems like a perfect fit. The only thing wrong is the timing.

Were this to be his last year patrolling the sidelines, it would be more of a no-brainer than John Rocker. Robinson could hire a caddie or two to carry his athletic director's bag until football season is over, then switch to the higher-backed swivel chair full-time in January.

But Robinson's inner circle says that despite having turned 66, he hasn't thought too much about hanging up his coaching whistle. It's sustaining a high level of performance in both jobs for a lengthy period of time that has some observers questioning the logic of doubling Robinson's workload.

Then there's the fact that virtually nobody else wears both hats anymore. In the past, coaching icons such as Bo Schembechler at Michigan, Frank Broyles at Arkansas and Darrell Royal at Texas sometimes did both jobs, probably because as head coaches of juggernaut football programs, they were dictating athletic department policy anyway.

But that era has gone the way of the wishbone offense and tear-away jersey. Of the 115 Division I programs, only one, Arkansas State, has one man (Joe Hollis) doing both jobs.

And as Regent Tom Kirkpatrick of Las Vegas so aptly pointed out, it would be a sad commentary if UNLV was patterning its athletic program after Arkansas State's.

Although Kirkpatrick was in the minority, at least give him credit for doing his homework. He talked with Doug Dickey, who did both jobs concurrently at Tennessee, and said Dickey told him as coach and A.D. there are often tough choices, such as whether to report a violation that could adversely effect the football team.

Kirkpatrick said when it comes to compliance, UNLV must err on the side of caution, given the basketball program's dalliances with the NCAA. "One more violation," Kirkpatrick warned, "and we're done."

Another semi-dissenting voice among the regents was Mark Alden, who, as usual, has a unique take. He said if Robinson were to bomb at either job, it is UNLV president Carol Harter, who proposed the idea, who should be fired.

While I understand the problem he has with Harter possibly setting Robinson up to fail, in this case it certainly isn't intentional.

In retrospect, perhaps it's a good thing Thomas Edison never served as UNLV president. Or I might be writing this column in the dark.