For those wishing to pay their respects and celebrate J’s incredible journey, a Visitation, Service, and Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026. All events are open to the public, and the family welcomes anyone whose life was touched by Coach Robinson.
J Robinson
Honoring a Legend: Tribute Shirts for Iconic Gopher Wrestling Coach J Robinson
The wrestling community lost a giant on March 29 when legendary University of Minnesota wrestling coach J Robinson passed away at the age of 79. Known for his intense discipline, profound life lessons, and unwavering commitment to his athletes, Robinson’s impact stretches far beyond the mat.
To honor his legacy, wrestling apparel brand Rudis, reached out to J’s wife, Sue Rubens, with a vision to create something meaningful. Together, Sue and the Rudis team designed three limited-edition tribute shirts that capture the essence of J’s values, teachings, and lifelong dedication to the sport.
A portion of every t-shirt sale will go directly to J’s Walk To End Alzheimer’s Fundraising effort.
J Paul Robinson Obituary
by Sue Rubens, widow of J Robinson
Loretto – J Paul Robinson, 79, of Plymouth, MN was embraced by angels and welcomed to heaven on March 29, 2026 while visiting his childhood home in Spring Valley, CA. Born on July 7, 1946 in San Diego, CA to John and Margaret Robinson, J was the 3rd of the 4 Robinson brothers.
J’s pain tolerance was legendary; the fabled number of surgeries he endured, insane; the amount of time spent on crutches – unknown! A body that J forced to function for decades by stubbornly imposing his sheer will, gave out unexpectantly due to complications from his digestive system. J passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends with his favorite songs playing, countless stories being told and by the grace of God easing his pain.
Gophers Mourn the Passing of J Robinson
MINNEAPOLIS – Former University of Minnesota wrestling head coach J Robinson passed away Sunday, March 29. He was 79 years old.
Robinson led the Gophers for 30 seasons from the 1985-86 campaign through the 2015-16 season. He developed an environment of excellence over those three decades that saw Minnesota rise to elite status in college wrestling. His teams claimed three national championships, while the three-time National Coach of the Year developed 65 All-Americans, 14 individual National Champions, six Big Ten team titles and 31 different Big Ten champions accounting for 49 individual titles.
All told, Robinson’s wrestlers amassed a total of 126 All-America honors, including a NCAA-record 10 All-Americans during the National Championship run in 2001. His .753 winning percentage and 440 dual meet victories are both program records.
Longtime Gophers wrestling coach J Robinson dead at 79
Robinson guided the Gophers to three national championships over his 30 seasons leading the program.
J Robinson, the wrestling coach who guided the Gophers to three NCAA team championships over 30 seasons, leading the program, has died at age 79.
The Gophers wrestling program announced Robinson’s death on social media Sunday, March 29, but did not provide further details.
Robinson coached the Gophers from 1986 to 2016, winning NCAA championships in 2001, ’02 and ’07 and coaching 14 individual national champions. Under Robinson, the Gophers also won six Big Ten team titles, and he was named Big Ten Coach of the Year eight times. Continue reading at startribune.com →
The Legacy of Heavyweight U
Before there was Gable Steveson, there was Billy Pierce, Shelton Benjamin, Brock Lesnar, Garrett Lowney, Cole Konrad, Tony Nelson, and Michael Kroells
By Brian Jerzak
If Minnesota Gophers’ wrestling is known for anything, it is the legacy of heavyweights that the program has been turning out year after year. Beginning with Billy Pierce in 1993 and continuing until Gable Steveson in 2025, the program has had a heavyweight All-American in all but a handful of those years. Why has the program been so successful with this specific group of wrestlers? What drew so many top-level – Olympic-level – athletes to the program? I talked to a few athletes who were part of the Gophers’ legacy of heavyweight dominance to learn more about the culture of heavyweights at the U.
Get The Guillotine Online Access to view. Current subscribers log in.
J Robinson Roast
J Robinson has done it all. The former Army Ranger wrestled at Oklahoma State before making the 1972 Greco Olympic team. From there, he joined Dan Gable at the University of Iowa where they built a wrestling dynasty. Robinson and Gable parted ways after the 1984 season and Robinson resurfaced at Minnesota where he led the Golden Gophers to three NCAA team titles (2001-02, 2007), including the 2001 team that had 10 All-Americans. Watch video from the J Robinson Roast at flowrestling.org →
You are invited to The JROB Roast!
Minnesota wrestling fans are invited to attend a celebration of the career of former University of Minnesota wrestling coach J Robinson. The event is scheduled to take place on June 25th at Tattersall Distillery in River Falls, Wisc.
The unofficial sendoff/retirement party is open to the public and will feature several prominent “roasters” from the wrestling community.
Gopher Wrestling to host a weekend of celebration
Gopher Wrestling is celebrating the legendary career of Coach J Robinson, the 2001 and 2002 national championship teams, and Gopher alumni with “Championship Weekend” on January 14, 15, and 16.
Robinson served as Minnesota’s head coach for 30 seasons dating from 1986-2016, leading The Gophers to a 437-134-4 record, 11 Big Ten titles, and three NCAA championships during his tenure.
Seven Minutes with J Robinson
Seven Minutes is a series of interviews with top wrestling coaches and athletes. Most of the question-and-answer sessions last roughly seven minutes. Hence the name. J Robinson coached the University of Minnesota to three NCAA championships, including the 2001 team that had 10 All-Americans. The former Army Ranger was a 1972 Olympian in Greco-Roman and is the founder of J Robinson Camps.
If you could take what you know now and have a conversation with yourself at the age of 15, what advice would you give yourself?
I would give myself the advice of trying to find a philosophy that I could buy into that would help me get to the level I wanted to get into. Having someone give me a path and say this is what you need to get there so I had a clear way to get to where I wanted to go.
Let’s go back to when you were in high school. What do you remember about the recruiting process, if there was any, and why did you pick Oklahoma State being from California?
I graduated in 1964 so there wasn’t any recruiting per se in the state of California. I got a couple letters from California schools that asked me to come there and wrestle. My high school coach was Ned Blass who was a two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State. He came in my senior year and he’s one of those people who opens your eyes and will say, ‘The world is bigger than California and it’s bigger than San Diego.’ He basically said you’re good enough to go here and he basically sent me to Oklahoma State. I went and I was lucky enough to have someone to direct me in the path I needed to go. I was willing to go — I just didn’t know where to go. I think that’s the way it is for a lot of young people. Listen/Continue reading at trackwrestling.com