Texas Southern University announced Wednesday the hiring of two-time National Athletics Director of the Year Ashley Robinson as the new Vice President and Athletic Director.
Robinson is one of the most accomplished and decorated athletics administrators in the country. He comes to Texas Southern after six transformative years at Jackson State University, where his leadership guided the University into a national HBCU powerhouse both on the field and in the classroom.
“When we began this search, my goal was simple: to identify an exceptional leader who has the leadership and acumen to take the University athletics to the next level of sustained excellence,” said President J.W. Crawford III. “I am confident Mr. Ashley Robinson has the capability to do so.
I look forward to working with him to not only elevate our program on the national stage, but to also achieve measurable outcomes for our student- athletes and memorable experiences for our fans.”
Robinson is a two-time National Athletics Direc- tor of the Year, earning the honor from the Black Student-Athlete Summit in 2023 and from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), sponsored by Cushman & Wakefield, in 2022. During his time at Jackson State, the athletics department captured 19 championships and won the C.D. Henry Award for the SWAC’s best all-around men’s sports program in 2022-23.
Robinson’s tenure was marked by national expo- sure for the program, including a 60 Minutes fea- ture, a live Good Morning America broadcast from campus, and a landmark appearance of ESPN’s Col- lege GameDay from Jackson State’s home stadium — only the fourth time the show has originated from an HBCU football game.
Under Robinson’s leadership, Jackson State stu- dent-athletes posted a 3.101 GPA in the fall of 2022, and the department graduated nearly 70 student- athletes that year. Robinson previously led JSU to the SWAC’s Academic Success Award in 2019-20.
Robinson’s path to Texas Southern includes a successful run as Director of Athletics at Prairie View A&M University (2013-2019), where he was later promoted to Vice President and Director of Athletics.
