Coach Mike Sanford - Head Coach, UNLV

November 7, 2007

LAS VEGAS – Third-year UNLV head football coach Mike Sanford has agreed to coach in the 2008 Hula Bowl, the game’s President Nick Logan announced on Wednesday.

Sanford will be joining Mike Riley from Oregon State University as they lead the Kai (west) squad against the Aina (east). The Aina squads have enjoyed a five-year winning streak in the historic game.

"The Hula Bowl has a long and impressive history as part of the college football landscape and I have followed it for many years," Sanford said. "That’s makes it even more exciting for me to be able to coach in this season’s game with Mike Riley and the Kai Team."

One of college football's leading offensive minds, Sanford was hired as the ninth head coach in UNLV football history on Dec. 6, 2004. Charged with reviving a program coming off four straight losing seasons, Sanford entered his first head coaching position after an outstanding career as one of the top assistants in the nation. Sanford had spent the previous two seasons as offensive coordinator at the University of Utah, which went 21-2 overall and 13-1 in the Mountain West Conference during his time in Salt Lake City. In fact, the 2004 Utes finished ranked fourth in the nation and made history by crashing the elite Bowl Championship Series and earning a trip to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

In his two years as Utah's offensive coordinator, Sanford helped instigate one of the biggest offensive turnarounds in the nation while directing an innovative spread offense.

A three-decade college and NFL coaching veteran, Sanford went to Utah from Stanford, where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2002. Most of his coaching career has been spent at the collegiate level, although he spent three years as the receivers coach for the NFL's San Diego Chargers from 1999-2001. His NCAA Division I coaching experience includes stints at Notre Dame, USC, Purdue, Long Beach State, Virginia Military Institute and Army. A California native, Sanford's first coaching position was as a graduate assistant under the man he replaced, Robinson, at Southern California in 1977. His full-time coaching chronology began in 1978 as the defensive coordinator at San Diego City College.

As a player, Sanford was a reserve quarterback for USC's 1973 and 1974 Rose Bowl teams (the 1974 team beat Ohio State for the national championship). He played free safety in 1976 when USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and finished second in the nation.

Sanford, born on April 20, 1955, earned his bachelor's degree from USC in 1978. He and his wife, Melinda, have two children: daughter, Lindsay, and son, Mike, who played quarterback at Boise State from 2001-04, and is now an offensive assistant at Stanford.

"Mike Sanford is a great addition to this years Hula Bowl game," said Logan. "Coach Sanford’s leadership on and off the field have continued to prove that Mike is a man of integrity. We are happy that he is able to join us for the 2008 game."

The 2008 Hula Bowl all-star game, now in its 63rd year, will be played Sat. Jan. 12, 2008 at Aloha Stadium on the island of Oahu. The Versus network has been selected to televise the game, which kicks off at 1 PM HST / 6 PM EST.