Les Robinson, former head coach at The Citadel, East Tennessee State University and North Carolina State University, has been named to the NIT Selection Committee.

The West Virginia native remains the only coach in Southern Conference men’s basketball history to earn league coach of the year honors at two different schools, and he ranks fifth on the conference’s list of basketball wins. Robinson’s appointment becomes effective July 1.

Robinson spent 11 seasons as The Citadel’s head basketball coach from 1974-85.  He led the 1978-79 and 1984-85 clubs to 20 and 18 victories, respectively, and was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 1979, and was also selected as South Carolina’s Coach of the Year for those two seasons.

Following his tenure at The Citadel, Robinson became the head basketball coach at East Tennessee State, where he coached the Buccaneers for five years increasing their win total each year. He guided the Buccaneers to two NCAA Tournament appearances (1989 and 1990), a pair of Southern Conference Tournament championships and was named Southern Conference and Tennessee Coach of the Year following the 1989-90 season.

During that time, he served the dual role of head basketball coach and director of athletics.

Robinson returned to his alma mater, North Carolina State, prior to the 1990-91 basketball season, taking over for Jim Valvano. He promptly guided the team to a 20-11 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance while earning the NABC’s District Coach of the Year in his first season with the Wolfpack.

As an undergraduate at North Carolina State, Robinson served as team captain and led the Wolfpack freshman basketball squad in scoring in 1961 while playing for legendary coach Everett Case.  He played for two years on the Wolfpack varsity, spent the 1965 season as a student-assistant coach and was promoted to graduate assistant status in 1966.