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LANCASTER, PA - He has been the one constant for Franklin & Marshall College men's basketball over the last 34 years. For F&M head coach Glenn Robinson, the uniforms and rules have changed, the floor design has been updated and the carousel of players has never stopped turning as recruits go from freshmen to Conference champions. But he has been constant, roaming the sidelines and coaching the Diplomats to victories since the 1971-72 season. For Robinson, who won his first game on December 7, 1971 when an 0-2 F&M team defeated Western Maryland College (now McDaniel) 80-51 at home in the Mayser Center, another milestone will fall in the coming weeks as he goes for the 700th victory of his career. The all-time wins leader in NCAA Division III history with a 697-242 mark in 34 seasons, he can become the 25th member of the 700 wins club and only the 10th active member joining Bobby Knight (Texas Tech), Don Meyer (Northern State), Herb Mage (Philadelphia), Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State), Lute Olson (Arizona), John Chaney (Temple), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Jim Calhoun (Connecticut). A 1967 graduate of West Chester University, Robinson reset the NCAA Division III basketball wins record of former Illinois Wesleyan coach Dennie Bridges on February 14, 2004 with a 75-52 win over Muhlenberg College in the Mayser Center. Since then, he has reeled off a 30-8 record to move to within three victories of being recognized among the elite coaches in the history of college basketball. Historically, Robinson guided the Diplomats to the Division III Final Four in 1979, 1991, 1996 and 2000 and was named the Basketball Times Division III "Coach of the Year" in 1991. He has earned conference and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) regional "Coach of the Year" honors 12 times, including the 2004 award for guiding the Diplomats to a 26-4 record, the Centennial Conference title and an NCAA Elite Eight berth. But coaching plaques do not tell the story of Robinson's career. Rather, consider that every men's basketball class that has graduated from Franklin & Marshall College since 1975 has shared two unusual points of excellence: each won a conference title and earned an NCAA tournament bid. "In terms of the program, I am most proud of our consistency. Making the NCAA tournament is not easy, especially over a long period of time. Earning a spot 19 times in 34 years is a credit to what we do and what we turn out in terms of students," Robinson noted.
A 2004 inductee to the West Chester University Sports Hall
of Fame, Robinson grew up in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, just outside
of Philadelphia, learning the game from watching local legends
Jack Boyd and ‘Wheaties’ Parker, played high school basketball
at nearby Lansdowne-Aldan High and collegiate baseball and
basketball at Division II West Chester, graduating in 1967
and earning a masters degree a year later.
He joined the F&M basketball coaching staff as an assistant coach in 1968 under Hall of Fame coach and athletic trainer Chuck Taylor. In the fall of 1971, he took over the Diplomats' varsity program when Taylor resigned to focus on his athletic training responsibilities.
But Robinson's road to NCAA history did not look realistic in the beginning. Following a year which saw F&M finish 4-16, its seventh consecutive losing season, Robinson led the 1971-72 Diplomats to a 7-14 improvement with wins over Western Maryland, Eastern, Penn State-Harrisburg, Haverford, Juniata, Messiah and a season concluding 68-51 victory over Drexel University. In 1973, the Diplomats improved to 11-13, the eighth straight losing season in program history as the Diplomats last finished .500 or better in 1962-62 when the squad notched a 10-9 record. Finally, in 1974, Robinson and the Diplomats broke through for a 13-11 mark, the team's best record since a 13-6 performance in 1959. In 1976, Robinson reset the school win record with a 17-8 record. However, the record did not stand for long as he broke it again in 1977 with 22, 1979 with 27, 1991 with 28 and 1996 with 29 victories. Part of his success has been the personnel with which he has had to work as Will Lasky (1991 honorable mention, 1992 first team), Donnie Marsh (1977 & 1979 second team), Jeremiah Henry (1996 first team), Dave Jannetta (1994 honorable mention, 1995 third team), Brad Markey (1989 second team), Dennis Westley (1981 second team), Terry Scott (1988 third team), Phil Hoeker (1989 honorable mention), Chris Finch (1991 & 1992 honorable mention), Charlie Detz (1994 & 1995 honorable mention), Mike Mehaffey (1996 honorable mention), Alex Kraft (2000 first team, 2001 honorable mention), Duran Searles (2004 honorable mention) and Steve Justin (2004 honorable mention) all earned All-America honors under Robinson. "If you look at F&M over the years, you'll see that there's rarely a player with an average of more than 17 points per game," noted Henry. "The best way to play basketball is for all five people on the floor to function completely as a unit. We really stress teamwork and the ability to play together and that comes through Coach Robinson's system." Unlike most Division I schools, which measure graduation rate based on the percentage of four-year players who get a degree, Robinson has a different standard. During his tenure, all but one player to earn a varsity letter in basketball has earned a degree, a statistic which few, if any, other college in the nation can boast.
"We have always had guys who dedicate themselves to
basketball. Academics is the number one priority at a school
like this, but these people also dedicate themselves to doing
the best they can out on the court. When you have that combination
- intelligent people working hard at something - usually the
results are pretty good," noted Robinson.
Franklin & Marshall will open the 2005-06 season at home in the Mayser Center on November 18 versus Gwynedd Mercy College in an opening round game of the 2005 S, Woodrow Sponaugle Tournament. Following a consolation or championship game on November 19 versus either SUNY-Cortland or Trinity (CT), the Diplomats will remain at home to face Juniata College (November 22) and Swarthmore College (November 27) before traveling to Gettysburg College on November 29 and Lebanon Valley College on December 1.
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