David Robbins (born September 10, 1942) is a retired American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. Robbins is best known for coaching at

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

power

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Richm ...

, where he won 713 games and three

NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament (officially styled by the NCAA as a "Championship" instead of a "Tournament") is an annual championship tournament for colleges and universities that are members of NCAA Division II, a grouping of ...

titles. Out of all NCAA coaches who have won more than 700 wins, Robbins is the second winningest coach with a winning percentage of 0.786 (713 wins, 194 losses). He is second only to Adolph Rupp who had a winning percentage of 0.822. Jerry Tarkanian, Dean Smith, Steve Moore, Roy Williams, Bill Self, Mike Krzyzewski, John Calipari, and Bo Ryan make up the remaining top ten. Seven out of 10 of those coaches have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Robbins, Moore, and Ryan have not. Robbins announced his retirement on April 15, 2008. He is a member of the

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...

, inducted in 2012.

Early life

Robbins grew up in

Gastonia, North Carolina Gastonia is the largest city in and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord. The population was 80,411 at the 2020 census, up from 71,741 in 2010 ...

and played football, basketball, and ran track at Ashley High School. He was recruited to play basketball at

Catawba College Catawba College is a private college in Salisbury, North Carolina. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its c ...

, but also played football and ran track. Robbins coached at Thomas Jefferson High School in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

where he led his 1975 team to the AAA State Championship prior to moving to

in 1978.

College coaching career

Robbins began coaching the

Virginia Union Panthers The Virginia Union Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Virginia Union University, located in Richmond, Virginia, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Panthers compete as members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assoc ...

in 1978, becoming the first white head coach in the history of the

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. CIAA institutions mostly consist of historically black coll ...

(CIAA), a conference consisting of

Historically black colleges and universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

. His hiring was highly controversial as many saw the hiring of a white coach as taking away opportunities from African-American candidates. During his 30-year career, Robbins led his teams to a record of 713-194 and three NCAA Division II National Championships in 1980, 1992 and 2005. His teams won 14 CIAA championships and garnered 21 NCAA tournament appearances. During his time at VUU, Robbins produced four Division II players of the year, eight Consensus first team All-Americans, and five

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

players: Ben Wallace,

Charles Oakley Charles Oakley (born December 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Oakley played for the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association ( ...

, Terry Davis, AJ English, and Jamie Waller. Robbins officially retired on April 15, 2008, turning the program over to long-time assistant Willard Coker.

Legacy

Robbins is a member of the Catawba College, Virginia Union University, CIAA, Thomas Jefferson High School, and Gaston County (NC) Halls of Fame. In 2010, Robbins was inducted into the

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...

. In 2012, Robbins was elected to th
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
In 2017, Robbins was inducted into th
Small College Basketball Hall of Fame
Most recently in April 2022, Robbins was inducted into th
North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Dave 1942 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from North Carolina Basketball players from North Carolina Catawba Indians football players Catawba Indians men's basketball players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States College men's track and field athletes in the United States High school basketball coaches in the United States National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Gastonia, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina Track and field athletes from North Carolina Virginia Union Panthers men's basketball coaches

Early life

College coaching career

Legacy

See also

References