STANFORD, Calif. - Katie Robinson has been named Stanford's associate head coach, providing one of the nation's elite programs with an added dimension of veteran coaching leadership.
Robinson arrives on The Farm after five seasons at Northwestern, beginning as associate head coach in 2018 before being promoted to Director of Swimming and Diving in 2020 and overseeing both the men's and women's programs.
Boasting 15 years of collegiate coaching experience, including eight as a head coach, Robinson earned the distinction as only the second female to oversee both men's and women's programs in the Power-5 at the time of her hiring at Northwestern.
"Katie joining the Stanford women's swimming and diving family is big day for our program," said Greg Meehan, Stanford's Paul A. Violich Director of Women's Swimming. "Katie is an incredible coaching talent with integrity, high EQ and ability to connect with people. During Katie's visit to campus, our women connected with her immediately and it was easy to see how impactful Katie is going to be in their lives."
"It's also a fun full-circle moment, as Katie and I had the opportunity to coach together for few months back in 2008. I could tell back then that Katie is always curious and wanting to learn and grow in the profession. That curiosity has brought her to The Farm and I know I speak for the team when I say we can't wait for her to get started!"
"This move feels like a homecoming to be working alongside Greg, a long-time mentor and friend of mine," said Robinson. "Fifteen years ago, Greg took a chance on me as his grad assistant when I was fresh out of college. I deeply respect his clarity of leadership, integrity, athlete advocacy and internal drive to be great. I am confident partnering with him at Stanford will bring out the best in both of us. I'm also eager to get to work with the impressive women on the team, building them up as champions and remaining confident in their pursuits. I'm smiling ear-to-ear with excitement about what this team can do and the fun that will be had. Go Card!"
During Robinson's three-year head coaching tenure at Northwestern, the Wildcat men's and women's programs combined to produce 28 school records in addition to earning their highest in-season CSCAA national poll ranking in school history. The women placed 16th in 2021, representing their best team finish in over 25 years while the men scored points at the 2022 NCAA Championships for the first time in five seasons.
Robinson's first head coaching role was a five-year stint at Tulane from 2013-18, as the Green Wave established 14 individual school records while winning 32 conference medals and qualifying for the NCAA Zone Diving meet four times. In addition to Tulane's success in the pool, the Green Wave earned CSCAA Scholar All-America status in each of Robinson's 10 semesters.
The early portion of Robinson's coaching career also included assistant coach stops at Rutgers (2011-13) with the women's team and Virginia (2008-11) with both the men and women. While at Rutgers, Robinson helped the Scarlet Knights finished as high as fifth place at the Big East Championships in 2013 as swimmers combined to post 41 lifetime bests during the campaign. Robinson's first full-time collegiate assistant post came at Virginia, where the men's and women's teams won three consecutive ACC titles and advanced to the NCAA Championships each year.
Robinson's initial foray into collegiate coaching came in 2008 as a graduate assistant at Pacific, where Meehan served as head coach of the men's and women's programs from 2005-08. In addition to aiding Meehan in both training and recruiting, Robinson also served as the school's Swim School Director, where she hired instructors, coordinated schedules for swimmers, handled payment and organized advertisements and promotions while raising over $75,000 in gross profit to aid the team's travel budget.
Robinson was a standout collegiate performer at Texas (2003-07), where she finished as an 11-time All-American and three-time Big 12 champion in the 200-yard butterfly title while being appointed team captain in 2006-07. Robinson earned a spot at the NCAA Championships every year as a Longhorn and led Texas to four top-10 finishes, including sixth-place showings in both 2005 and 2007. As a senior, Robinson was named first-team ESPN The Magazine All-District VI and second-team Academic All-America.
Robinson claimed the Jody Conradt Endowed Scholarship in 2005, the Houston Texas Exes Endowed Scholarship in 2006 and the V.F. "Doc" Neuhaus Endowed Presidential Scholarship, the Texas women's athletic department's highest endowed honor, in 2007.
A native of Dillsboro, Indiana, Robinson completed her bachelor's degree in kinesiology in December 2007.