Clemson AD Robinson to step down in June

CLEMSON, S.C. - Clemson&#39;s Bobby Robinson, the longest serving athletic director currently in the Atlantic Coast Conference, said Tuesday he will retire after 17 years because he doesn&#39;t have the energy the department needs to keep growing. <br> <br> Robinson will leave after June 30. He made the decision to step down last summer and worked the past few months with Clemson University President James Barker on the timing. <br> <br> ``I do think you do get worn down physically,&#39;&#39; said Robinson, 56, who&#39;s been part of the Tigers&#39; athletic department since 1973. <br> <br> ``I believe one person doing this job for 17 years at one institution is long enough,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Barker said a national search will take place. He hopes to have a successor before Robinson leaves. <br> <br> ``We will miss his talents and his dedication, and I would sincerely love for him to continue to hive a role at Clemson beyond June,&#39;&#39; Barker said. <br> <br> Robinson won&#39;t commit much but said: ``I want one football season where I can be a fan, tailgate, everything.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Robinson also felt Clemson might need a different leadership philosophy. ``Rightly or wrongly, I&#39;ve had a direct impact on what we&#39;ve done, really, since 1975,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Sometimes change is really good for everybody.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Robinson said he stuck with a family-type vision at Clemson while competing in the high-profile ACC. <br> <br> ``Sports like ours have been encouraged to thrive&#39;&#39; by Robinson, said Clemson women&#39;s basketball coach Jim Davis. ``We&#39;re going to miss him.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> South Carolina&#39;s Mike McGee, Robinson&#39;s athletic director rival since 1993, said the profession was losing a top-notch administrator. McGee said he was proud that he and Robinson responded to the intense rivalry among the schools in ways that ``made both programs better.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Robinson departs with a financially sound base - Clemson was debt-free for several years before issuing $20 million in bonds in 2001 for structural improvements to Death Valley, Littlejohn Coliseum and others facilities - and what he thinks is a school close to massive athletic success. <br> <br> ``The hardest part of this is I really think we&#39;re on the verge of some good things,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I think the pieces are in place here.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Others might differ. <br> <br> Football coach Tommy Bowden went from nine victories in 2000 to seven this past season. Less than a year ago, Bowden and Robinson argued through memos that became public through the state&#39;s Freedom of Information Act about NCAA secondary violations in the football program. The dispute was resolved, both sides have said. <br> <br> Bowden said in a statement that Robinson&#39;s ``professional approach, his fairness and integrity are reasons I came to Clemson.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Meanwhile, men&#39;s basketball coach Larry Shyatt is in an eight-game losing streak and would need some big-time victories to stay out of the league basement for a second-straight year. <br> <br> Robinson said his retirement debate helped lead to administrator Bill D&#39;Andrea taking over day-to-day decisions for football and men&#39;s basketball last October. Robinson said D&#39;Andrea would be a good bridge into Clemson&#39;s next athletic era. ``But I&#39;ll leave that up to President Barker,&#39;&#39; Robinson said. <br> <br> One of Robinson&#39;s regrets was his job&#39;s changing nature. He says he came into administration to work one-on-one with athletes. As Clemson&#39;s department grew into a $30-million-a-year business, Robinson said the athletic director became more of a CEO and more removed from the athletes. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s obviously less fun,&#39;&#39; he said. Just ask about his happiest moment at Clemson: winning the ACC golf championship as coach in 1982. ``And I was the worst golf coach in America,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Robinson has had his share of critics. <br> <br> There are probably still Clemson fans who blame him for national championship coach Danny Ford leaving after the 1989 season. Robinson said at the time the two disagreed over some aspects of the football team. <br> <br> The next three coaches hired by Robinson - Ken Hatfield, Tommy West and Bowden - have one ACC title between them. <br> <br> Men&#39;s basketball had some of its greatest moments led by coach Rick Barnes, who Robinson hired from Providence, from 1995-98 with three NCAA tournament trips and a No. 2 ranking in 1997. However, Shyatt&#39;s teams have had difficulty matching those marks. <br> <br> Yet IPTAY, Clemson&#39;s athletic booster group, raised a record of $20.2 million this past year. <br> <br> If major personnel decisions had to be made before June, Robinson said it would be his call as it has been since 1985. <br> <br> ``You have to make decisions that are hard decisions,&#39;&#39; he said. ``You have to take criticism and sometimes do things you don&#39;t want to do. ... The only thing I want people to think is, &#39;He did it the best he could.&#34;