Polk Robison

Polk Robison (1912-2008)

Teams coached: Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech record^: 252-196 (.563)
Overall record^: 252-196 (.563)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  3  (1954, 1956, 1961)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  1  (1961)
  • NCAA Tournament Final Four:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • Southwest Regular Season Champion(1961)
  • Border Regular Season Champion:  3  (1954, 1955, 1956)
  • NAIA Tournament Appearances:  (1949)

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1947-1961 Texas Tech
1942-1946 Texas Tech
1941-1942 Texas Tech (asst)

Polk Robison Facts

  • Polk Robison
  • Born May 24, 1912
  • Died June 27, 2008
  • Hometown: Lubbock, Texas
  • Alma Mater: Texas Tech University (BA, 1934)
  • Born in Tennessee but raised mostly in Texas, Robison graduated from Lubbock HS
  • Played basketball and tennis at Texas Tech, the former for head coaches Dell Morgan and Virgil Ballard
    • Helped coach football and tennis at his alma mater after graduation
  • Started his coaching career at Burkburnett HS (TX) before returning to Tech in 1941
    • Worked as an assistant football coach (under Dell Morgan) and basketball coach (under Berl Huffman)
  • Became the head basketball coach in 1942, holding that role for the next 19 years (save for the 1946-47 season)
    • Went 252-196 overall, finishing .500 or better in 15 of 19 seasons\
      • The program competed at the NAIA level for a few years in the late 1940s, reaching the 1949 NAIA Tournament
    • Reached the NCAA Tournament three times, including a Sweet Sixteen run in 1961
    • Won four regular season conference titles, one Southwest and three Border
  • In 1960, Robison became the AD at Texas Tech and in 1961 stepped away from coaching to focus on his AD role
    • Robison had been associate athletic director for five years prior to getting the AD job
    • Served as athletic director for ten years in total (1960-70)
    • Was the athletics administrator for finance and development from 1970 until his retirement in 1977
  • Passed away in 2008 at the age of 96; survived by the three children he had with late wife, Stephanie

Polk Robison Coaching Tree

  • Gene Gibson (Texas Tech)
  • Sterling Gibson (Eastern New Mexico)
  • Gerald Myers (Texas Tech, Houston Baptist)

 

^ overall and Texas Tech records include several seasons in which the program competed at the NAIA level