Hall of Fame
One of the all-time greats in Golden Lion football history, Chris Robinson was named UAPB’s Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics in June 2021 after serving as the Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director.
Robinson moves over to athletics from the Office of Recruitment, where he had spent the previous eight years in serving the university. Multiple stints at UAPB is a common theme for Robinson, who came to Pine Bluff after a standout career at Mattie T. Blount High in Pritchard, Ala. After playing for the legendary Archie "The Gunslinger" Cooley at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Robinson transferred to Southern University, playing quarterback for one season under College Football Hall of Fame Coach Marino Casem.
As the Golden Lion football program returned to play in 1993, Robinson returned and led the revival of the program under UAPB alum and the coach with the most wins in school history, Coach Lee Hardman. UAPB went 6-5 before forfeiting a game in ’93 before Robinson led the Golden Lions to the 1994 NAIA National Championship Game, highlighted by a seven-touchdown (six passing / one rushing) performance in a come-from-behind overtime semifinal win.
After one year away from playing working in management, Robinson returned to the sidelines at Mid-American Nazarene University. He coached quarterbacks and running backs while also serving as assistant softball coach, and as the school’s Director of Minority Affairs.
Robinson then returned to UAPB, teaching marketing while also coaching the offensive skill players and special teams, football operations and was the program’s NFL liaison. He then returned to the corporate sector for a decade before returning to The Pride in 2012.
A 2014 UAPB Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Robinson earned his bachelor’s degree in management from UAPB, and a Master’s degree in business administration from Mid-America Nazarene University.
In Robinson’s first year as Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics, the Golden Lions football program captured their first Western Division title since 2012 and advanced to the spring 2021 SWAC Championship.
In July of 2022, Robinson was named to the FCS ADA Executive Committee. He currently serves on the Executive Board for the Jefferson County Habitat for Humanity and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
The Golden Lions have since gone to the SWAC Championship Game with the women’s basketball team for the first time in school history while the UAPB Men’s Golf Team secured the SWAC Golf Title in 2023.
Robinson’s administration made a monumental announcement in January and formally launched several campaign and renovation projects. The campaign will impact several key facilities throughout the athletics department, including the groundbreaking of the Track and Soccer Complex, renovation of the Thomas May Fieldhouse Fuel Station, football locker room, and UAPB Softball Complex.
Robinson married two-time All American track runner and Golden Lion Alum Kim George and the couple has two sons – Christopher (UAPB Graduate), Kylan (UAPB Graduate), and one daughter, a freshman in high school, Kaylen (The BOSS).
