HBCU Texas Southern has approved both Jackson State AD Ashley Robinson and Seton Hall assistant Corey Lowery for key athletics roles.
Houston Defender’s Harris reported Wednesday that the Texas Southern Board of Regents approved Robinson for the athletic director position and Lowery for the men’s basketball job. Robinson comes to Houston after a successful run at Jackson State. Lowery arrives after serving as an assistant at Seton Hall.
The votes came after days of growing tension around the basketball search.
Texas Southern players, students and alumni had publicly demonstrated in support of interim head coach Shyrone Chatman. According to Harris, some players held signs and alumni stood during the presentation for Lowery before leaving after the vote.
That scene underscored how divided the process had become.
Texas Southern moves forward with Lowery
Lowery’s candidacy drew considerable scrutiny before Wednesday’s vote.
HBCU Gameday previously reported that his candidacy did not receive favorable support in two committee meetings ahead of the full board session. Questions also surfaced regarding alleged communication involving current Texas Southern players before Lowery had formally been approved for the job.
Harris published what he described as an exchange involving a current player and reported that The Defender had obtained a recording involving the parent of a player.
No NCAA violation involving Lowery has been publicly established.
Still, the controversy did not stop the full board from approving him.
That creates an immediate challenge for Lowery. As if taking over a program in late August wasn’t enough.
He now takes over a Texas Southern program where members of the current roster publicly advocated for Chatman to remain in charge. In the transfer portal era, that makes player relationships and roster retention an early priority.
Ashley Robinson leaves Jackson State for Texas Southern
The Robinson vote carries a different kind of significance.
Robinson has spent much of his career inside the SWAC and has built one of the strongest administrative résumés in HBCU athletics.
He came to Jackson State in 2018 after previously serving as athletic director at Prairie View A&M.
At Jackson State, Robinson hired Deion Sanders as head football coach in 2020, a move that transformed the national profile of the program and helped push HBCU football further into the mainstream sports conversation. He then chose T.C. Taylor as his successor. Taylor has led JSU to even more success with a SWAC title and Celebration Bowl in 2024.
Robinson also hired Tomekia Reed, who turned Jackson State women’s basketball into a consistent SWAC power before leaving for Charlotte.
His tenure included championship success, increased visibility and several high-profile decisions that helped make Jackson State one of the most recognizable brands in HBCU athletics.
Now he is heading back to Texas.
Robinson’s name had previously been linked to a return to Prairie View A&M before he elected to remain at Jackson State. This time, the opportunity at Texas Southern became official.
Jackson State now faces major transition
For Jackson State, the next question is immediate.
Who replaces Robinson?
The Tigers are now faced with replacing an athletic director who played a major role in shaping the modern identity of the department.
Texas Southern, meanwhile, gets an administrator with deep SWAC experience and familiarity with the Houston market.
The university also gets a new basketball coach whose arrival comes with more controversy than expected.
Wednesday’s votes settled two job searches. But much remains to be resolved in Houston’s Third Ward.