Bio
Ray Robinson was promoted to Associate Head Coach of Track and Field on August 1, 2024. Robinson has been a member of Iowa’s coaching staff since July 2021, leading the Hawkeyes’ throws group.
In 2024, Robinson led two Hawkeyes to Big Ten Championships. Kat Moody won the discus with a 59.31-meter toss, while Mike Stein claimed the javelin title with a school-record 81.19-meter mark. Stein was named the Big Ten Outdoor Field Athlete of the Championships. Stein was also joined by Jordan Johnson at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Robinson guided both to All-American honors. Sophomore Sean Smith set Iowa’s school record in the weight throw at 22.28 meters. Moody and Stein qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials under Robinson’s direction.
In his second season, Robinson coached senior Amanda Howe to second-team All-America honors in the hammer throw at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Howe earned Iowa’s best placing at the Championships. Freshman Mike Stein knocked down the program record in the javelin, which he would break again in 2024. Robinson coached several student-athletes to point-scoring finishes at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio.
In 2022, his first season with Iowa, Robinson coached three Hawkeye First Team All-Americans (Tyler Lienau, weight throw; Nik Curtiss, shot put; Jordan Johnson, discus). Additionally, Robinson coached Curtiss to Second Team All-America honors in shot put during the indoor season. Before competing at Iowa during his senior season, Curtiss competed under Robinson at Tiffin, where Robinson coached him to trio of NCAA DII runner-up finishes in shot put and seven total All-America honors. Making an immediate impact on the program, Robinson’s throwers took down four school records during the 2022 season (Indoor: men’s weight throw, men’s shot put; Outdoor: men’s shot put, women’s hammer throw). Robinson also coached freshman Sean Smith, who finished his season sixth at the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw.
Robinson joined the Hawkeyes following an 11-year stint as associate head coach at Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio. Robinson coached both the men and women at Tiffin University. His student-athletes captured four NCAA Division II national championships and five NCAA silver medals. He coached 40 first-team All-Americans and saw the school record in each of Tiffin’s 12 throwing events broken during his tenure.
Tiffin won two national titles and has captured seven trophies at the NCAA Championships since 2015.
On the senior level, Robinson has worked extensively with John Godina, a four-time world champion, Olympic medalist and holder of the NCAA Championships shot put record. He coached three-time NCAA DII national champion Coy Blair at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials and the 2017 World University Games, and Adriane Blewitt at the 2012 Olympic Trials.
Robinson is a two-time graduate of Tiffin University. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in 2010 and his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources in 2015. He previously held the TU school record in the discus throw and is on the top-10 performance list in hammer throw and weight throw. He is a three-time All-GLIAC honoree and was selected to the GLIAC All-Academic team four times while twice earning Academic All-America honors.
Robinson is married to Kristen Robinson, a former All-American shot putter for the Dragons and TU Hall of Fame inductee. Ray and Kristen have three daughters, McKenzie Jo, Jordy Rae and Emileigh James.