MINNEAPOLIS — John Gagliardi put sleepy little Collegeville, Minn., on the national college football map with a style all his own.
After 60 years at Division III St. John’s, four national titles and more victories than any coach in NCAA history, Gagliardi is calling it a career at the tender age of 86.
“It’s unbelievable that I could make a living with a career in a game that is so popular and is such a huge business," Gagliardi said Monday after announcing his retirement. “To be a small part of that has just been wonderful."
Gagliardi started coaching college players in 1949 and spent the past six decades at the private school in central Minnesota. He retires with a record of 489-138-11 and surpassed Eddie Robinson for the career coaching victories record in 2003.
— The Associated Press
