Katie Robinson enters her first season on The Farm after being hired as associate head coach of the women’s swimming program on June 27, giving Stanford an added dimension of veteran coaching leadership.
Robinson arrived at Stanford 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 woman to oversee both men’s and women’s programs in the Power 5 at the time of her hiring at Northwestern.
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.
Robinson arrived at Stanford 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 woman to oversee both men’s and women’s programs in the Power 5 at the time of her hiring at Northwestern.
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.