Texas A&M-Corpus Christi didn't look too far - or too long - for its next women's basketball head coach.
The Islanders stayed within the program for one of the very few times, and will promote associate head coach Robert Robinson to head coach. He will lead the team into its first season as a Southland Conference member.
"I was very ecstatic," Robinson said. "I've been coaching for 15 years. I've been a lifelong assistant waiting to be a head coach."
Robinson, who has assisted at A&M-Corpus Christi for four seasons, received the backing of players and former head coach Jodi Kest, who took over at Akron in May. He thanked the athletic department staff, the search committee, university president Flavius Killebrew and, most of all, Kest.
"Coach Kest was instrumental in going to bat for me as her successor," Robinson said. "That was important as far as the process went. She'll always have a place in my heart for that."
With Southland ties - Robinson was once an assistant at Texas-Arlington - and due to his efforts on her behalf, Kest said the endorsement was easy.
"He deserves it," Kest said. "A lot of the reason for our success was his outstanding work and recruiting. He knows the conference from back in his days at UTA, and I think they'll have a great shot of winning the conference next season."
Robinson said he would retain assistants Deb Roof and Geoff Grawn, and that he had a coach in mind to round out his staff.
Since the program's inception, the Islanders have had five major head coaching vacancies - two apiece for women's basketball and softball, and one for volleyball. Robinson's promotion is the first time the university stayed in-house for its next head coach.
Interim athletic director Brian DeAngelis confirmed Tuesday that the search came down to Robinson and Tulsa assistant Amy Williams, who visited the campus Monday. DeAngelis said Williams was the only outside candidate to receive a face-to-face interview, and that seven phone interviews were conducted.
With a team stocked with players he recruited, and having a coaching background almost strictly based in Texas, Robinson said this was his dream job.
"When coach Kest (an Ohio native) landed her job in Akron, she said it was the job she was looking for. I was born and raised in Texas, and I told president Killebrew that this was the perfect job for me," Robinson said. "As long as we win games and graduate players, I could stay here and retire here."
The search started May 12 when Kest left to become head coach at Akron. When the listing closed nine days ago, there were 22 applicants vying to become the third women's basketball coach in Islanders history.
The list was quickly pared by 20 names, with Robinson and Williams as the final two candidates. That quick process was in accord with Killebrew's wishes that the search be thorough but not take an excessive amount of time.
"The July recruiting period is crucial for us," DeAngelis said. "I think, with the senior class we have next year, it's crucial to have someone in place for the recruiting period. I thought if the process could be well thought out and thoroughly done, we could move on it (quickly)."
In addition to six seniors, Robinson inherits a team that lost three players, including forward Terra Andrews, a four-year starter who owns almost every A&M-Corpus Christi career scoring or rebounding mark.
Robinson has a win to his credit when, with Kest absent, he filled in as head coach for the Islanders' 2005 regular-season finale against Texas-Pan American, a 68-48 victory.
He has been the team's recruiting coordinator and academic coordinator. As an assistant, he worked primarily with A&M-Corpus Christi's post players.
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