[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 10, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E155-E156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING COACH GLENN ROBINSON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH R. PITTS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 10, 2004

  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to offer this statement of 
recognition for Glenn Robinson, the men's basketball head coach for 
Franklin and Marshall College.
  Coach Robinson is a hometown hero for us here in Lancaster. He has 
passed Illinois Wesleyan's coaching legend, Dennie Bridges, to become 
the all-time winningest coach in

[[Page E156]]

NCAA Division III men's basketball with 667 wins.
  Coaching more than 900 games for the Diplomats, Coach Robinson has 
compiled a historic record. He has won more games than any other 
college basketball coach in Pennsylvania. Historically, he is one of 
only 41 coaches in collegiate basketball history to have won 600 games.
  Among the top thirty coaches on all levels of the NCAA, Coach 
Robinson holds the tenth best winning percentage of all time. That puts 
him in the elite company of coaching legends like John Wooden, Jerry 
Tarkanian, Dean Smith, Don Meyer, Jim Boeheim, Lute Olson, Phog Allen, 
and Mike Krzyzewski.
  Robinson, who will be inducted into the West Chester Hall of Fame on 
February 13, has guided the Diplomats to the Division III Final Four 
four times (1979, 1991, 1996 and 2000) and was named the Basketball 
Times Division III ``Coach of the Year'' in 1991. He has earned 
conference and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) 
regional ``Coach of the Year'' honors 11 times.
  But Coach Robinson isn't just about winning basketball games. He 
produces young men who are winners in life as well. You can't talk 
about records and winning percentage without mentioning the players who 
have made it possible. Part of his success has been the players with 
whom he has worked. Players like Will Lasky (1991 honorable mention, 
1992 first team), Don Marsh (1977 & 1979 second team), Jeremiah Henry 
(1996 first team), Phil Hoeker (1989 honorable mention), Dave Janetta 
(1994 honorable mention, 1995 third team, 1995 second team), Dennis 
Westley (1981 second team) and Alex Kraft (2000 first team, 2001 
honorable mention) all earned All-America honors under Robinson.
  Unlike most Division I schools, which measure graduation rate based 
on the percentage of 4-year players who get a degree, Coach Robinson 
has a different standard. During his tenure, all but one player to earn 
a varsity letter in basketball has earned a degree, a statistic which 
few, if any, other college in the Nation can boast.
  Coach Robinson grew up in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, just outside of 
Philadelphia and played high school basketball at nearby Aldan 
Lansdowne High before continuing his studies at West Chester 
University. At West Chester, he played collegiate baseball and 
basketball for the Division II Rams before graduating in 1967, earning 
a masters degree a year later.
  Robinson joined the F&M basketball coaching staff in 1968 under Hall 
of Fame coach and athletic trainer Chuck Taylor. In 1971, he took over 
the Diplomats' when Taylor resigned to focus on his athletic training 
responsibilities.
  His first win came on December 7, 1971 in Mayser Gymnasium, as 
Franklin & Marshall men's basketball team, then sporting an 0-2 record 
downed Western Maryland College 80-51. Robinson went on to lead the 
1971-72 Diplomats to a 7-14 record with wins over Western Maryland, 
Eastern, Penn State-Harrisburg, Haverford, Juniata, Messiah and a 
season concluding 68-51 victory over Drexel University.
  In 1973 the team improved to 11-13 as Coach Robinson put the pieces 
in place to build a successful program.
  In 1974, Robinson and the Diplomats snapped their 10-year span of 
losing records, with 13-11 season record, the team's most wins for a 
Franklin and Marshall men's basketball team since its 13-6 showing in 
1959.
  In 1976, Coach Robinson set the school win record with a 17-8 record, 
erasing the 16 win seasons of Woody Sponaugle in 1952, J. Shober Barr 
in 1941 and Robinson's own mark from the 1975 season.
  In 1977, he broke his own record with 22 wins. And he did it again in 
1979 with 27, 1991 with 28 and 1996 with 29.
  His career win total accounts for an astonishing 60 percent of the 
total collegiate wins in Franklin & Marshall men's basketball history 
(1,115) since the inception of the sport in 1899-1900 under H.S. 
Wingert.
  Coach Robinson is a pillar in our community and has built a program 
known for the success of its teams on the court and its players off of 
it.
  I commend Coach Robinson for reaching this historic milestone. He has 
earned it. He deserves every accolade and award he receives.

                          ____________________