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John A. Robinson, Jr. begins his fifteenth year in college athletics administration and his eighth at the University of Houston (UH). Robinson serves as the Deputy Director of Athletics, and in this capacity is responsible for managing all day-to-day administrative functions of the Department while assisting the Director of Athletics in supervising and providing leadership for all departmental initiatives including: strategic planning, finances, academics, compliance, personnel, fund-raising, facilities planning and enhancement, sport supervision, scheduling for football and men's basketball, and game day management. Robinson also provides direct oversight and supervision for the following support areas: business and finance office, corporate relations, equipment room, facilities maintenance, football and men's basketball day-to-day operations, game day operations and special events, the Cougar Authentic Gift Shop, grounds and field maintenance, information technology, licensing, marketing and promotions, strength and conditioning, sports medicine, team travel, ticket office, and video operations. In addition, he is responsible for managing the Department's $30 million budget. Moreover, Robinson served as Interim Athletics Director for three months in 2009. During his tenure at UH, Robinson created and implemented a budgetary plan which reduced University financial support for Athletics by approximately $3 million. In addition, he has led a branding campaign which included the introduction of a new Cougar logo and implemented a new management and revenue enhancement strategy for the gift shop. These initiatives helped increase licensing royalties by 135% and gift shop sales by 128%. He also oversaw a football marketing and ticket campaign which increased student attendance by 516% and general attendance by 44%. Furthermore, Robinson was one of two lead negotiators for new airline, apparel, concessionaire, television commercial, and on-campus Major League Soccer (MLS) agreements. The new concessionaire agreement has been the foundation for increasing concessions revenue by more than 200%. Moreover, he led an effort that created a $48 million business plan which is the fund-raising model for the Robertson Stadium renovation and expansion project, and he is a member of the core fund-raising team which has already secured approximately $12 million in private donations for the stadium renovation and expansion project. Robinson was the lead negotiator for the Athletics portion of the new University Coca-Cola agreement which should increase Athletics revenue in excess of $2 million. Additionally, he serve in the following managing roles: Assistant Tournament Director of the Division I NCAA Men's Basketball Championship for 2008 & 2010 (Regionals) and 2011 (Final Four), and University's managing administrator for the on-campus Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise and International Soccer games. Before coming to UH, Robinson was an Associate Athletics Director at Villanova University. In this capacity, he was a member of the management team responsible for day-to-day operations of the Department. During his seven-and-one-half year tenure, he was also a member of the corporate sponsorship team which was responsible for increasing annual corporate contributions from $500,000 to $2.5 million dollars. In seven years, this effort produced $28 million in total contracted revenue. Moreover, the Department's endowment approximately doubled from $5 million to $10 million. Additionally, Robinson was responsible for providing leadership and supervision in the areas of sport administration, marketing and promotions, strength and conditioning, sports medicine, compliance, and operations of the University fitness centers. Furthermore, he served as the Admission Liaison for men's basketball and football, and fulfilled the role of University Athletics Financial Aid Liaison. In addition, he was one of three primary authors of Villanova's gender equity plan, and served as the University's Coordinator for the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA). While at Villanova Robinson was also the sport administrator for football, men's and women's cross country/track & field, golf, men's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, and softball. Additionally, he was appointed the Athletics Department's coordinator for the NCAA Re-Certification process, and was a member of the Steering Committee and the Fiscal Integrity Subcommittee during the re-certification process. Likewise, he served on such committees as the University Board of Academic Integrity, the University Equity Committee, the University Inclusiveness and Diversity Committee, and the Task Force for University Re-Certification. Robinson was also active on the conference level serving on both the Big East Conference Rowing and Legislative Committees. In 2000, he was one of seven college athletics administrators selected from a national pool to be an NCAA Fellow, an 18 month professional development program designed by the NCAA to assist individuals in preparation for senior level administrative positions at the institutional and conference levels. Robinson was a student-athlete at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he was a member of the football team, which was the Southwest Conference co-champion, and participated in the Sun Bowl and the Aloha Bowl. In addition, he was named to the All-Southwest Conference Academic Honor Team. Subsequently, Robinson transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he played football and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Economics. Thereafter, he obtained a Doctorate (JD) from Tulane University Law School, and then practiced law in Texas where he is a member of the State Bar of Texas. He also received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Villanova University. Robinson and his wife reside in Pearland with their daughter Gabrielle. |
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