March 2, 2011
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State head football coach Rocky Long will be inducted into the Albuquerque/New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame this Thursday, recognizing his accomplishments as both a player and a coach at the University of New Mexico. Long starred as a dual-threat quarterback for the Lobos from 1969-71 before serving as New Mexico's head football coach from 1998-2008.
Long is widely regarded as the most prolific run-pass threat in school history and led the Lobos to a 16-9-2 record during his time under center. Long accounted for 4,461 yards of total offense over the course of his career, including 2,071 rushing yards--a figure which makes Long the leading rusher in New Mexico history at the quarterback position. In 1971, Long spearheaded a wishbone attack that accounted for 384.5 rushing yards per game, the highest rushing yardage total in school history.
Long cemented his status as a New Mexico Hall of Famer when he came back to his alma-mater in 1998 as the head football coach. Long roamed the sidelines in that capacity for eleven seasons and ended up coaching in 134 games, which is by far the largest number of games coached by any head coach in school history. Long's 65 wins make him the Lobo's all-time winningest football coach.
New Mexico appeared in five bowl games during Long's 11-year stay as head coach, after only appearing in six during the first 106 years of the football program's existence.
Long left New Mexico in 2008 and served as San Diego State's defensive coordinator for the 2009-10 seasons. Long was named the Aztec's 18th head football coach in January of 2011.