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Joe Roberson

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Joe Roberson
Biographical details
Born(1935-09-22)September 22, 1935
Flint, Michigan, U.S.
DiedJanuary 13, 2020(2020-01-13) (aged 84)
Grand Blanc, Michigan, U.S.
Playing career
Baseball
1954–1955Asheville Tourists
1954, 1956Shawnee Hawks
1955Mobile Bears
1955–1956Cedar Rapids Raiders
1956St. Paul Saints
PositionPitcher
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1994–1997Michigan

Marvin Joseph Roberson (September 22, 1935 – January 13, 2020) was an American academic administrator who was the director of athletics at the University of Michigan from 1994 to 1997.

Early life

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Roberson was born on September 22, 1935 in Flint, Michigan.[1] He was a standout baseball and basketball player at Flint Northern High School.[2] During his senior season, he pitched two no-hitters and two one-hitters.[3] He signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers on July 13, 1953 and played in their organization from 1954 to 1956.[1]

Career

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Roberson earned his undergraduate degree from University of Michigan–Flint in 1958 and his master's and doctorate from the University of Michigan in 1963 and 1970, respectively. He began his academic career as a professor of education at UM–Flint. He was the school's dean for students from 1966 to 1980, vice chancellor from 1980 to 1983, and interim chancellor from 1983 to 1984.[4]

Roberson moved to the University of Michigan in 1984 as head of corporate fundraising. In 1989, he became the associate vice president and executive director of the Campaign for Michigan, a $1 billion fundraising campaign.[4]

Athletic director

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In September 1993, Roberson was named Michigan's next athletic director. He succeeded Jack Weidenbach on July 1, 1994.[5] Under his leadership, Michigan achieved gender equality in athletics, signed a $7 million contract with Nike, and reorganized the athletic department's executive staff.[6] Michigan won seventeen conference championships and two national championships (men's swimming and diving in 1995 and men's ice hockey in 1996) during his tenure as AD.[4]

Roberson dealt with a number of scandals as AD.[6] In 1994, he chose not to suspend hockey coach Red Berenson after Berenson was arrested for drunken driving and public urination.[7] That same year, he placed women's basketball coach Trish Roberts on probation after some of her player's parents accused her of abuse. In 1995, Roberts and the university were sued by a former player who alleged the coach had harassed her and forced her to leave the team because of a disability.[8] Roberts left the university by mutual agreement at the end of the 1995-96 season. The university agreed to pay her $65,000 and support her in any legal proceedings as part of the agreement.[9] The women's basketball program improved under Roberts' successor, Sue Guevara.[6] In 1995, head football coach Gary Moeller was fired after tapes were released of his alleged drunken outburst following an arrest on a charge of disorderly conduct at the Excalibur restaurant in Southfield, Michigan.[10][11][12][13] Roberson chose to promote one of Moeller's assistants, Lloyd Carr, to the head coaching position. Carr led Michigan to a national title in 1997.[4]

On February 17, 1996, an automobile accident involving Michigan basketball player Maurice Taylor revealed a curious relationship between booster Ed Martin and Michigan's basketball program.[14] Roberson learned that Martin had tried to place deposits on apartments for UM basketball players Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock and had offered airline tickets to Bullock's parents so they could attend a tournament in Puerto Rico. It emerged that head coach Steve Fisher had known about Martin's actions at the time. While Fisher had ordered the deposits retrieved and made sure the tickets weren't used, he didn't tell anyone in the athletic or compliance offices, as he was required to do. Roberson also learned that during the 1992 Final Four, Fisher made two of the limited supply of team rooms available to Martin. Martin gave one hotel room paid for by Michigan to Chris Webber's father—a violation of NCAA rules. As a result of Roberson's findings, he ordered interviews of the basketball team and team coaches.[15] The initial investigation into the Michigan basketball scandal found no serious violations, however later investigations made it clear that Michigan's basketball program was guilty of major violations and Michigan decided to impose its own sanctions on the program.[16][17][18][19]

In February 1997, Roberson informed University president Lee Bollinger that he wanted to step down once his successor was hired.[20] He departed when Tom Goss was hired on September 8, 1997.[21]

Personal life and death

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Roberson married Barbara Perry in 1955. They had two children. Barbara Roberson died in 1989. He was married to Carolyn Conklin Black from 1994 until her death in 2013. Roberson died on January 13, 2020 at his home in Grand Blanc, Michigan.[4]

References

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  1. 1 2 "Joe Roberson". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Former Michigan athletic director Joe Roberson of Flint dies at 84". mlive. January 14, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Dodgers Sign Flint Ace". Daily Times-News. July 13, 1953. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Svoboda, Kurt. "Former Michigan Director of Athletics Joe Roberson Passes Away at 84". Go Blue. University of Michigan. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Sports Notes". The Madison Courier. September 4, 1993. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Atkins, Harry (August 13, 1997). "Roberson can leave Michigan with head high". Ludington Daily News. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  7. ↑ Barger, Paul (March 18, 1994). "Roberson decides not to suspend 'M' Coach". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Trish Roberts plagued by scandal at Michigan". Bangor Daily News. May 29, 1995. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  9. ↑ Goldstein, James (May 29, 1996). "'M' women's hoops coach Roberts quits". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  10. ↑ Cain, Charlie. "Reports Detail Moeller's Confrontation With Police." Detroit News, in Seattle Times, May 3, 1995. Retrieved on July 14, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Moeller resigns; Carr will be named interim coach; Players voice respect for Moeller Archived May 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine." The University Record (University of Michigan), May 8, 1995. Retrieved on July 14, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Document Indicates Coach Was Forced Out Of Program." Detroit News, in Seattle Times, July 6, 1995. Retrieved on July 14, 2009.
  13. ↑ Moeller Bows Out as Michigan Coach : College football: Resignation follows a drunken incident that the athletic director says tarnishes the university's image. <https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-05-sp-62736-story.html>
  14. ↑ Heuser, John (February 13, 2014). "Eddie L. Martin, 69, dies". Ann Arbor News. Advance Media. Archived from the original on March 6, 2003. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Ed Martin Revealed: His long and infamous road into Michigan basketball history", The Michigan Daily, vol. 113, no. 136, University of Michigan, p. 20, May 12, 2003, retrieved March 19, 2020
  16. ↑ Mulherin, Brian (October 9, 1997). "No violation found against Traylor". Ann Arbor News. Michigan Live LLC. Archived from the original on May 9, 2001. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  17. ↑ Deegan, Jason (October 9, 1997). "Investigation doesn't show new evidence". Ann Arbor News. Michigan Live LLC. Archived from the original on May 9, 2001. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  18. ↑ Katz, Andy (August 30, 2003). "Scandal won't keep Amaker from rebuilding Michigan". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 4, 2003. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  19. ↑ Hakim, Danny (November 8, 2002). "Michigan Punishes Basketball Program". The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Roberson announces intent to resign". The Michigan Daily. August 13, 1997. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  21. ↑ Kamins, Heather (September 5, 1997). "Goss becomes athletics boss Monday". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
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