The Texas Southern University search for a new athletic director and a new men’s basketball coach had a chance to be routine and successful.
Those two searches, however, have been anything but.
This process has been awkward, painstaking, and full of concerns. But somehow out of all that, TSU President J.W. Crawford is expected to present the candidates for athletic director and basketball coach on Wednesday at 9 a.m., whom the Board of Regents will vote on during a special session.
The two men anticipated to take on these two important roles in the athletic department are Jackson State athletic director and former Prairie View A&M athletic department leader Ashley Robinson, and Seton Hall University assistant basketball coach Corey Lowery.
If approved, Robinson would replace Kevin Granger as vice president of athletics, and Lowery would take over for Johnny Jones, who departed to be an assistant coach at LSU. Both would receive five-year contracts paying $350,000 annually in base pay.
But by the time the dust settles, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if longtime NFL executive and TSU alumnus Tony Wyllie is seated next to Crawford as the new athletic director on Wednesday to serve as TSU’s new AD. Neither would it be surprising if the university has made what seems to be the most responsible decision at this late stage and keeps interim men’s basketball coach Shyrone Chatman on at least through the upcoming season.
Anything feels possible at this point because of an internal power struggle that has made the leadership appear incapable of hiring strong candidates.
From the curb, Robinson and Lowery both look like capable candidates. But what has alumni, supporters, and apparently some members of the Board of Regents concerned are the details regarding both men.
Robinson looks like a program builder, a leader capable of getting things done, and he is the man who thought outside the box enough to hire NFL great Deion Sanders as Jackson State’s head football coach when nobody else would. Now, every HBCU athletic director seems to be looking to fill their football vacancies with the next former NFL star.
But then you look at the financial constraints and deficit Jackson State athletics is facing under Robinson’s leadership, and the natural question is, why would TSU want to potentially hire that problem?
Then there is Lowery. He has a pedigree and background that seem to be a good fit for TSU, having previously been a head coach at smaller college programs and now an assistant coach at a big-time basketball program.
The concern is what we don’t know about Lowery. We know that a few years ago, while working as a principal at a high school in Pennsylvania, he was sued by the athletic director for allegedly engaging “in a severe and pervasive pattern of conduct designed to usurp and undermine Ms. (Linda) Ionta in her position as Athletic Director”. A red flag is that his tenure at Union High School is nowhere to be found in his bio.
Another problem is that shortly after being unofficially offered the TSU job, Lowery began contacting players on the Texas Southern basketball roster to inform them that he was coming aboard and to outline his plans. The problem there is that it is believed those calls were made while he was still employed by Seton Hall, which, if true, would be a classic case of tampering and likely an NCAA infraction.
All these issues have naturally become concerns for members of the Board of Regents. And according to two trusted sources, board subcommittees for personnel and athletics met on Friday and were split on the two hires.
There was concern about Robinson, but he was approved. Lowery was not approved, and under normal circumstances, that would have been the end of it, and he would not have been presented to the board for approval.
But as we have come to understand at TSU, especially under Crawford’s leadership, little is routine on the Third Ward campus. Sources say that Crawford and Board Chairman James Benham, who stepped in and moved things along during the latter stages of Lowery’s hiring process while the president tended to a family matter, have continued to fight for Lowery and seem committed to presenting him for a vote before the full eight-member board.
The vote was originally announced for Aug. 28 but was unexpectedly moved up to Aug. 19 late last week.
In the meantime, there has been plenty of drama in the background. Basketball student-athletes and their parents are frustrated because they learned, as they were set to move to campus this past weekend, that a coaching move had been made and that the man who recruited them last spring would be out.
Chatman, who interviewed for the head coaching job, has recruited eight new players to the team who are now on campus, has been working them out all summer, and has set the entire non-conference schedule for the upcoming season. If Lowery is approved on Wednesday, he inherits Chatman’s work.
Letters ranging from concern to outrage have been sent to Crawford seeking an explanation of what is going on. But there has been radio silence from the leadership.
The Defender has attempted to reach Crawford, Benham, Robinson, Lowery, Chatman, and Wyllie, but none have responded.
In the meantime, conflicting camps have set up around these two hirings. Most alumni favor hiring Wyllie and keeping Chatman on board at least through the upcoming season. The players and their parents want Chatman, the coach who sold them on TSU, to carry out the vision. Nonetheless, Benham and Crawford are forging forward with their plan.
Influential alumnus and host of The Today Show, Michael Strahan, is believed to be supporting the hire of Wyllie, along with other influential TSU backers.
A meeting is scheduled for Wednesday to vote on these two high-profile roles, but anything could still change.
Potential Candidates
Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics
ASHLEY ROBINSON
Robinson, who is currently the vice president and director of athletics at Jackson State, seems to be the leading candidate to head up TSU’s athletic department. He has experience in the SWAC, having also served as the athletic director at PVAMU.
The Positive: Robinson has served as athletic director, is credited with knowing how to raise money, and his hiring of Deion Sanders as the football coach has seemed to raise the football program’s profile, even after Sanders left for Colorado.
The Concern: Jackson State’s athletic department has reported three straight years of financial losses and ended 2025 with an $816,891 deficit.
TONY WYLLIE
At this point, Wyllie seems like a long shot to get the job, but with prominent alumni Strahan and other influential alumni and supporters backing him, he is still a viable candidate.
The positive: Wyllie has spent several years working as an executive in the NFL for franchises such as the Texans, Commanders, St. Louis Rams, and Tennessee Titans. Wyllie, from Houston and a TSU alumnus, is charismatic, sharp, and well-connected.
The Concern: There is no getting around it. While Wyllie is the CEO and founder of The Collective Engine and has served as regional president and managing director of Special Olympics North America, he does not have experience running an athletic department.
DR. PAULA JACKSON
Jackson has been running the athletic department on an interim basis for nearly a year, but at this point does not appear to be a serious candidate for the permanent role.
The Positive: Jackson has stepped into a difficult situation following Granger’s departure and has served as a strong liaison between the athletic department and Crawford’s office. Jackson is a longtime college administrator who has a record of putting student-athletes first.
The Concern: Jackson has served as interim athletic director at Hampton and Norfolk State on a couple of occasions, but has not been elevated to a permanent position yet. Jackson is said to have won the respect of the coaches and administrators she has overseen at TSU, but without the authority to make major decisions, she really didn’t get to show what she could bring to the position.
Men’s basketball coach
COREY LOWERY
Lowery is believed to be the top candidate to replace Jones as head coach. But many are asking why. He has most recently been an assistant coach at Seton Hall.
The Positive: Lowery is an experienced coach, having even served as a head coach at smaller programs. He was named the CIAA Coach of the Year while at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Lowery was also selected to coach in the inaugural HBCU All-Star Game.
The Concern: Lowery lacks extensive experience at the higher levels of college basketball and has not led a program to the NCAA Tournament, which is always the goal at TSU. Lowery also has some question marks regarding his resume and the lawsuit filed against him while he was serving as a principal. Lowery also may have committed NCAA violations when he began calling current TSU players while still employed by Seton Hall.
SHYRONE CHATMAN
Chatman seems to be everybody’s choice to coach TSU at least through the upcoming season. Chatman was appointed interim head coach in March after Jones accepted an assistant coaching job at LSU.
The Positive: By all accounts, Chatman has gone above and beyond his interim title, having successfully recruited eight new players, kept a few former players in the fold, worked the players out all summer, and put together a non-conference schedule for the upcoming season. Chatman has also served under two successful TSU coaches in Mike Davis and Jones.
The Concern: Chatman has not run his own program before, but has worked at UMass and Memphis and has the respect of many, including John Calipari, who coached him at Memphis.
