Hall of Fame
A native of Wadesboro, N.C., Will Robinson of Illinois State University is the third honoree in The Valley’s Lifetime Achievement category.
The Lifetime Achievement category honors, when appropriate, former players, coaches, administrators or alumni who competed, worked or attended a current Conference school.
When he was hired at ISU in 1970, he became the first African-American head basketball coach at a predominantly white Division I university.
A former Detroit (Mich.) high school basketball icon, Robinson ascended the ranks to his current position in the front office of an NBA franchise, the Detroit Pistons.
The breaking down of color barriers was almost a byproduct for Robinson, who has an endowed scholarship in his name at ISU.
Robinson, who coached Redbird legend Doug Collins, is an enduring figure and certainly one of the nation’s sports treasures. He left ISU in 1975, after compiling a record of 78-51 in five seasons.
Beyond what he accomplished in the major college ranks, he was also the first African-American high school basketball and football coach in the state of Michigan and the first African-American scout in the NFL.
Presented the Bunn Award in 1992 from the National Basketball Hall of Fame, Robinson is a member of six athletics halls of fame, including Illinois State Athletics Hall of Fame, the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, the West Virginia State University Hall of Fame, Upper Ohio Valley Dapper Dan Hall of Fame, Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame and the Michigan High School Basketball Hall of Fame.