Following the completion of his 34th year as head coach of the men’s rugby team at the University of Tennessee, Butch Robertson met with his team on Friday afternoon to announce his retirement.

Robertson steps down following a long and prosperous tenure as head coach of the Volunteers, which included games in 19 states and an overall record of 751 wins, 321 losses and 26 ties.

Under his leadership the rugby team enjoyed seven National Tournament appearances, two South Territory championships and three Southeastern Tournament championships.

Robertson coached nine Collegiate All-Americans and three players that went on to play for the Eagles, the United States national team.

Coach Robertson began his coaching career at Tennessee in 1977, just seven years after the founding of rugby on campus. He led the Volunteers to unprecedented heights, including participation in the inaugural Collegiate Rugby Championships 7s tournament and participation in the first year of the Collegiate Premier Division.

Butch Robertson was introduced to rugby as a young architectural student on the campus of North Carolina State University. After graduation in 1970 he played five years for the Atlanta Rugby Club before taking on the coaching duties at Emory University (1975-1977). Coach Robertson moved to Knoxville in 1977 and found his way to Fulton Bottoms Rugby Field.

While Robertson is retiring from active coaching, he will assume the title of Coach Emeritus and will remain an essential part of the rugby program at Tennessee.

Men’s Rugby at the University of Tennessee has named the following coaching staff for the 2011/2012 season – Marty Bradley (Head Coach), Andy Allen, David Codevilla, Mark Donaldson, Joe Siragusa and Michael Weldon.