As alumni, staff, and media members trickled into the auditorium at Texas Southern University’s H&PE Arena, Usher’s Burn was playing in the background on Wednesday afternoon.
The song couldn’t have been more appropriate for the day and what was about to transpire.
The alumni, student athletes, and supporters have been in a tizzy this past week as anticipation built over who would be or should be the next hires for vice president and director of athletics and the men’s basketball coach.
Finally, one of the worst-kept secrets and one that had created a lot of anxiety around campus was revealed when TSU President J.W. Crawford introduced Jackson State athletic director Ashley Robinson as the Tigers’ new lead man and Seton Hall assistant basketball coach Corey Lowery as the next men’s basketball coach.
“This is a great day in the history of Texas Southern University,” Crawford said to the gathered crowd. “It is an exciting day.”
If nothing, it was an eventful day that included two 5-2 votes of approval by the TSU Board of Regents in favor of hiring Lowery and Robinson earlier in the day, a show of disapproval from the players Lowery is inheriting, and an emotional outburst by alumni who felt like their voices were muted in this whole process.
Nonetheless, Crawford has now filled two important voids in the athletic department with permanent hires. Neither of the candidates the alumni and TSU fanbase may have wanted is here, but Robinson and Lowery are the ones they have.
Robinson, who has also served as athletic director at Prairie View and Mississippi Valley State, is a proven athletic department leader who is innovative and galvanizing. The move from Jackson State to TSU seems like a lateral move, but Robinson sees a great opportunity at the HBCU in the heart of Houston’s Third Ward.
“My answer is simple,” Robinson responded to Defender’s question of why TSU. “Because I believe in what Texas Southern can become. I see history here, I see tradition here, I see tremendous people here. I see alumni who care deeply about this university, I see student athletes who deserve an exceptional experience. I see coaches who want to compete at the highest level, and I see Houston, one of the most dynamic cities in America, rooted in historic Third Ward.
“That means Texas Southern University has something that many institutions spend years trying to create: Identity, community, and access to powerful marketing. But demographics is not an advantage until you activate it.”
Now comes the challenging part of winning over the alumni and fan base. The biggest hurdle in doing that may be Lowery, who is directly replacing departed and successful coach Johnny Jones. But his late-in-the-game hire also means the displacement of interim head coach Shyrone Chatman, whom many felt deserved an opportunity to coach the team he recruited this past spring.
Lowery also doesn’t have the flashiest resume, and there are some concerns about his past employment as a high school principal in Pennsylvania. There are also NCAA infractions concerns regarding Lowery, who is believed to have contacted current TSU players after being offered the Tigers’ job while still employed by Seton Hall.
So, he came in fighting a difficult battle and probably didn’t help his cause by referring to TSU three times as TCU (Texas Christian University) during the introductory press conference.
Lowery began his intro speech with a prayer, and by the time he had made two blatant TCU references and caught himself a third time, he found himself needing to lean on that prayer.
The crowd let the first slip slide, but became vocal after the second reference.
“I asked for forgiveness in the beginning,” Lowery said to the disgruntled group. “The first thing I did was pray.”
Crawford said he strongly stands by his two hires, even with the concerns hovering over Lowery and talk about the substantial debt Jackson State’s athletic department finds itself in under Robinson’s leadership.
“I’m here to serve. My job is to help you become the best version of yourself on and off the court, teach you how to serve and work for a cause bigger than yourselves and help you mature into an impactful professional. When we become the best versions of ourselves we will be able to use our gifts to come together as a powerful team.”
Corey Lowery on his message to his new team
“I focused on having picked two outstanding candidates, and I’m confident we have picked two outstanding candidates,” Crawford said to the Defender in a meeting before the press conference. “I can’t speak to what’s happening at any other institution or what has happened at any other time, but an extensive review of these candidates was done to ensure that we brought in individuals of integrity that can lead this institution. That’s what I’m focused on.”
Now comes the healing process among the alumni, fans, and student-athletes as TSU looks to forge ahead with the two hires, who have both agreed to five-year deals believed to be worth $350,000 each in base salary.
In an exclusive interview with the Defender prior to the press conference, Crawford acknowledged the feelings of alumni and supporters who wanted longtime NFL executive and TSU graduate Tony Wyllie as the new AD to replace Kevin Granger, and who wanted Chatman to at least be retained through the upcoming season.
A group of alumni stood in solidarity during the morning’s Board of Regents special sessions and then stormed out of the room, shouting after both Robinson and Lowery were approved.
Crawford said he has invited a small group of alumni to meet in his office on Monday to begin the healing process.
“When I see that emotion, I see the passion for the University,” Crawford said to the Defender. They are passionate about the university that they love; they want the university that they love to succeed, and, in their minds, they have a vision for what that might look like, perhaps. What I want them to make sure they recognize is I have that same passion for this institution; I have the same desire for us to succeed as a unified whole.
“Just like any family from time to time, you are going to have a different view of opinion. But at the end of the day. You’ve got to bring the family together. Somebody has to be responsible and take ownership of doing that. That’s my responsibility to reach out and make sure people understand we respect their views – I respect their views, and we want this institution to succeed as well as they do.”
