University of Minnesota Athletics
WR: Robinson Inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame
6/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
"One, it's about the journey you go through," Robinson said. "Two, it's about the people you meet along the way. There so many people that have had an influence on my life."
Robinson's induction represents recognition for a life spent working in the sport of wrestling. From his coaching career with the two-time NCAA Champion Golden Gopher Wrestling Program to his success wrestling internationally to his unprecedented promotion of the sport, Robinson's influence is felt all along the wrestling landscape.
"It's a culmination of my entire life as an athlete, as a coach and as a camp director," Robinson said. "You put it all together and it's a good feeling to know that your life has amounted to something."
He is most recognized for his college coaching success, where he has been head coach of the University of Minnesota for the last 19 seasons. He led Minnesota to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2001 and 2002. In 2001, the Golden Gophers had a record 10 All-Americans, and won the tournament without an individual finalist. In 2002, Minnesota repeated as team champions, with two individual champions.
After just wrapping up his 19th season as a collegiate head coach, Robinson boasts a 278-101-3 dual meet record at Minnesota, His team has won seven top-three placements at the NCAA Championships, four Big Ten team titles and three NWCA National Duals titles. Under his leadership, 37 different Golden Gopher wrestlers have won 76 All- American honors. He has been Big Ten Coach of the Year five times, Amateur Wrestling News Man of the Year in 2001, and National Coach of the Year three times.
He served as Interim Head Coach for the Univ. of Iowa in 1983-84, when head coach Dan Gable was working with the U.S. Olympic team, and led the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten and NCAA team titles. He was an assistant coach under Gable from 1976-84, a period when Iowa won seven NCAA team titles. He also served as a graduate assistant coach at Oklahoma State.
Robinson has also been a successful international coach, working on the coaching staff for four straight U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling teams (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988). He was also the head coach of the 1983 Pan American Games team.
He wrestled in college for the legendary Myron Roderick at Oklahoma State from 1968-69. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army from 1969-72, and served a tour with the First Calvary Division in Vietnam during 1971-72. He attended high school in San Diego, Calif. where he was a two-time SDCIF champion and was Outstanding Wrestler in 1964.
Robinson competed in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany at 82 kg/180.5 lbs. in Greco-Roman. He also wrestled on two U.S. World Teams, placing fourth at the 1970 World Championships and fifth in the 1971 World Championships. He won four career national titles, two in freestyle and two in Greco-Roman. Robinson also captured silver medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the 1970 and 1972 World Military Games.
His influence on the sport goes well beyond his achievements as an athlete and coach. He is the owner and director of the J Robinson Intensive Wrestling Camps, one of the most successful summer camp programs in the nation. These camps set the standard for challenging young athletes to work hard and improve under a specialized training system. His camps are held all over the nation, and have tutored hundreds of thousands of young people over the years.
He has taken a leadership role in promoting wrestling, with innovative and aggressive approaches to selling the sport. Robinson created the "Border Brawl" dual event between top rivals Minnesota and Iowa, and set the NCAA attendance record for a dual meet with 15,646 fans in 2002. Major matches are marketed to the general public, and a professional presentation with music and lighting add excitement to the action.
"I think people would say that I love the sport of wrestling and that I want to see it grow," Robinson said. "That's important to me. I want people to think that I made a difference to some degree."
