National Association of Basketball Coaches to Honor Glenn Robinson at Division I Final Four

by Sports Information
3/28/02

LANCASTER, PA - Franklin & Marshall College head men's basketball coach Glenn Robinson will be honored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches at the Guardian of the Game Awards Ceremony during the organization's annual convention at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Final Four in Atlanta, Georgia.

The award will honor Robinson for claiming his 600th career victory during the 2002 season with an 85-61 win in F&M's Mayser Center during the opening round of the 2002 S. Woodrow Sponaugle Tip-Off Tournament. For his 31-year head coaching career, Robinson is now 623-226 for a 73.4 winning percentage.

The 1991 Basketball Times Division III "Coach of the Year" and 11 time conference and NABC regional "Coach of the Year", he became the fourth coach in the history of NCAA Division III to record 600 career wins. Historically, only 36 coaches in collegiate basketball history have won 600 games.

On the Division III level, Robinson is the active wins leader, well ahead of runner-up Jim Smith (604) of St. John's College in Minnesota. Only Dick Sauers (702) of Albany, Illinois Wesleyan's Dennie Bridges (666) and Ken Anderson (631) of Wisconsin-Eau Claire have won more games than Robinson.

In terms of regular season and NCAA Tournament success, few coaches in the history of college basketball can match Robinson's success. Seventeen 20 win seasons, including 10 from 1987 to 1996, eighteen NCAA Division III Tournament bids, including 11 consecutive years from 1986 to 1996, four appearances in the Final Four and a national title game appearance in 1991. Under Robinson, F&M has earned 24 conference playoff berths, including 16 in the last 17 years, and 13 playoff titles, with eight in the last 12 years.

His career win total accounts are an astonishing 58.1% of the total collegiate wins in Franklin & Marshall men's basketball history (1,073) since the inception of the sport in 1899-1900 under H.S. Wingert.

Further, Robinson has coached twelve men's basketball All-America players in Will Lasky (1991 honorable mention, 1992 first team), Don Marsh (1977 & 1979 second team), Jeremiah Henry (1996 first team), Phil Hoeker (1989 honorable mention), Dave Janetta (1994 honorable mention, 1995 third team, 1995 second team), Dennis Westley (1981 second team) and Alex Kraft (2000 first team, 2001 honorable mention). All told, three players have earned first team, four players second team, two players third team and seven players honorable mention since Marsh first earned the award in 1977.

On Friday, March 29, Robinson will accept the Sears Championship Plaque presented by the corporation's chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board, Alan Lacy, at the NABC/Sears Championship Luncheon. The award is presented to each Division I, II and III Conferences' regular season champion and is among the highest team honors in collegiate basketball. The Diplomats finished the Centennial Conference regular season 11-2 before defeating Ursinus and falling to Gettysburg in the Conference playoffs.

Franklin & Marshall College concluded the year 24-5, 12-3 in the Centennial Conference, and claimed the 2002 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Championship with an 82-65 win over Kings College.

It marked the first time in the history of the sport at the College that the men's basketball team participated in the ECAC tournament. Historically, all 15 prior F&M men's basketball teams that won 20 games advanced to the post-season, with four teams making the NCAA Final Four.

Robinson and the Diplomats are slated to open the 2002-03 season in November at home in the Sponaugle Tip-Off Tournament versus Methodist College, Marymount University and Widener University.