Who Chose Ashley Robinson and Corey Lowery? Crawford, Benham Take Us Inside Texas Southern's Hiring Process

HOUSTON — Inside H&PE Arena on Texas Southern University’s campus, workers were finishing preparations in the conference room where Ashley Robinson would soon be introduced as the university’s new vice president and director of athletics and Corey Lowery as head men’s basketball coach. The Board of Regents had approved both hires hours earlier.

We made our way to the conference room through a darkened hallway. Nearby, basketballs pounded the hardwood as players called to one another across the practice court. Some of those players had spent the previous week, including that morning, asking Texas Southern not to make one of the hires about to be announced.

Minutes before the press conference, I sat down with President James W. Crawford III and Board Chairman James M. Benham for an exclusive interview. I put to them the question that had trailed both searches: Who actually made these decisions, and how?

The Interview

August 19, 2026; Texas Southern University Board of Regents Chairman James M. Benham and President James W. Crawford III interview with Kyle T. Mosley of HBCU Legends before introducing Ashley Robinson as VP/AD and Corey Lowery as Men's Head Basketball Coach at H&PE Arena. | Mandatory Credit: Kyle A. Mosley, HBCU Legends on SI

President Crawford took the seat to my right, sitting upright with a serious expression. Chairman Benham settled into the chair to my left, smiled and leaned back with his legs crossed.

Asked why it had been so critical for him to have his hands in the selection process from start to finish, Crawford shifted in the chair and responded quickly.

“My hands haven’t been in the selection process from start to finish other than starting it, giving direction of how it should proceed, and then allowing it to proceed,” Crawford said.

That distinction, between setting a process and steering one, anchored the next 18 minutes. It also defines the divide surrounding Texas Southern: alumni who say they were shut out of the search and returning players who protested the outcome, while the administration insists the process was conducted in accordance with university standards.

President Crawford — August 19, 2026; Texas Southern University President James W. Crawford welcoming the audience at the introductory press conference for Ashley Robinson (VP/AD) and Corey Lowery (Head Coach, Men's Basketball) at H&PE Arena in Houston, Texas. | Mandatory Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends on SI

Setting the vision, not picking the name

In the weeks before the vote, Texas Southern alums contacted HBCU Legends with questions about how the two searches were being conducted. Their concerns pointed to a larger issue: whether the university community would view the process as meeting the institution's formal standards. Questions also came from within the university, including in a letter from Dr. Lacey Reynolds, a tenured faculty member, that HBCU Legends published.

Crawford, a retired three-star Navy vice admiral and former Navy Judge Advocate General, described his role in institutional terms.

“My role is to set the vision of what we want candidates to look like and why, and then ensure that we follow the Texas law, follow our own policy, as well as board policy.”

The process began with a public procurement for an executive search firm whose staff included former athletic directors and head coaches with experience in the ACC and Big Ten. Crawford then addressed a central question surrounding the searches: How much control did he actually exercise?

“I had nothing to do with selecting them,” Crawford said of the firm. “My job was to ensure that the process was followed.”

Crawford met with DHR Global's Glenn Sugiyama to set a vision that “started and ended with integrity.” He then appointed an advisory committee to provide another layer of review, including a TSU coach, a TSU dean and a sitting athletic director from outside the SWAC, who Crawford said was deliberately chosen to bring an outside perspective.

In all, Crawford said the two searches drew 116 applicants: 70 for the men’s basketball job and 46 for vice president and director of athletics.

“That’s just a reflection of the prestige that working at Texas Southern has,” Crawford said.

Only finalists vetted by the firm and the committee reached his desk.

“All that candidate gathering, examining of candidates’ backgrounds, interviewing those candidates — I don’t have any insight into any of that.”

August 19, 2026: Texas Southern Board of Regents Chairman James M. Benham at the introductory press conference for Ashley Robinson (VP/AD) and Corey Lowery (Men's Basketball, Head Coach) at H&PE Arena in Houston, Texas. | Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends on SI

‘Our job is not to redo the search’

Benham was appointed to the Texas Southern Board of Regents by Gov. Greg Abbott in October 2020 and later became its chairman. He also led the search that brought Crawford to Houston, and he did not hedge.

“I have total, complete faith and confidence in President Crawford.”

Later, Benham made clear what he believed were the limits of the board’s involvement in the search process.

“Our role is to approve his decision. Our role is not to redo the process that he did,” Benham said. “And I just want to make that really clear.”

The board hires and manages the president, approves the budget and signs off on expenditures and personnel above defined thresholds. What the regents did Wednesday, Benham said, was to confirm those steps had been followed — board counsel and the university’s general counsel reviewed the search-firm contract and the formation of the advisory committee.

Benham argued that Texas Southern’s process included more layers of review than a typical coaching search.

“Most coaching decisions are made by athletic directors,” Benham said. “They’re made very quickly and they’re made in private. Most coaching decisions don’t even have a search committee. And the AD comes out and announces it.”

Because TSU was hiring an athletic director and, as he put it, “one of the top two coaching positions at this school,” Benham said the university took a different approach.

August 19, 2026; Texas Southern University VP and Athletic Director Ashley Robinson (left) and Head Men's Basketball Coach Corey Lowery (right) at their introductory press conference held at H&PE Arena in Houston, Texas. | Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends on SI

Why Texas Southern Made Both Hires Now

The sharpest criticism in the last several months is not only about who Texas Southern hired, but when. Crawford’s answer was a philosophy of time.

“Time is the one thing you can never get back,” he said. “You can always get more money, but you can never get time back. And for an institution today, you have to maximize your utilization of that asset.”

He could have run the searches sequentially, “but now we’d be sitting here waiting to get the basketball coach.”

“Athletics is so critical to this institution, and that basketball program, which is legendary, is so important that we needed to take advantage of our time, maximize our time, and bring both of these critical leaders on board as fast as possible,” Crawford said. He wanted both to get “a hot start.”

Time is the one thing you can never get back.
TSU Pres. James W. Crawford III

Benham traced the compression to a single April phone call. Head coach Johnny Jones left for an assistant’s role at LSU on April 7, and the chairman, a Louisiana native himself, didn’t pretend to be bitter.

“A fellow Louisianian, Johnny Jones, went home … LSU called,” Benham said. “And I don’t blame him for leaving. I’ll say this. I miss him. He’s a wonderful human.”

The AD search was already underway.

“Then you end up with both of these things hitting at the same time. College athletics is a different beast than it used to be. Timing is critical. Moving decisively is critical.”

TSU Students Protest | David Hill, HBCU Legends Contributor

The alumni and student bridge

TSU alumni and students have been among the loudest voices in this story, and much of their criticism has centered on how much input they had in the process. I asked Crawford directly how the university planned to smooth over the division.

“You’re exactly right,” Crawford said. “It’s a lot of passion, right? A lot of passion.”

The repair work has already begun, he said. At the close of Wednesday’s board meeting, Crawford said he approached a well-placed alumnus and asked that person to identify five or six alumni to meet with him Monday morning, to discuss the gap between what alumni believe happened and what the administration says occurred.

“I understand they have heart involved,” Crawford said. “And so to talk through this, because we all want Texas Southern to succeed.”

Benham didn’t dismiss the frustration.

“We value our alumni. We love our alumni. They are the heartbeat of former students that are passionate about Texas Southern.”

August 19, 2026; Coach Corey Lowery speaking at the Texas Southern University Introductory press conference in H&PE Arena. Houston, Texas. | Mandatory Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends on SI

Why Texas Southern chose Corey Lowery

With time running short, I asked Crawford one of the central questions surrounding the basketball search: Why was Lowery the right man? Crawford went first to résumé.

“He’s won at every level. He’s got head coach experience. He’s been a player developer.”

He has said the same thing publicly. In the university’s announcement of the hire, Crawford said, “Coach Lowery has won at every level and every stop of his career.”

Crawford, however, said his final evaluation went beyond the résumé.

“I sat with each candidate, each finalist like this, and looked each other in the eyes like this,” he said. What convinced him wasn’t on paper.

“What I saw face-to-face was his passion, and his commitment to students-slash-athletes — and I say it this way intentionally. Students. They are students first and they are athletes after that.”

His focus, Crawford said, is on young men “matriculating and completing and going into life as ready men.” He added, pointedly: “That’s not a hit on anyone else. I want to be clear about that.”

Then Crawford drew a line under his own authority, the same one he had drawn at the beginning of the interview.

“Based on what I felt and saw, I made a decision to nominate, let’s be clear.“

“To nominate,” HBCU Legends repeated back.

“To nominate,” Crawford said, “for the board to consider.”

August 19, 2026; Vice President and Director of Athletics Ashley Robinson speaking at the Texas Southern University Introductory press conference in H&PE Arena. Houston, Texas. | Mandatory Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends on SI | Mandatory Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends on SI

Why Texas Southern chose Ashley Robinson

Robinson arrives with the longer administrative track record of the two hires. He led Jackson State athletics since 2018 after five years at Prairie View A&M, where he oversaw the construction of a new football stadium and track complex.

His most significant move came in 2020, when Robinson hired Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as head football coach. The Coach Prime Era produced two SWAC championships, Celebration Bowl appearances in 2021 and 2022, and record-setting FCS attendance. More importantly, it restored the Jackson State brand, moving Tiger athletics further into a national spotlight.

Robinson's coaching hires extended beyond Sanders. He also hired Tomekia Reed, T.C. Taylor and Mo Williams, helping establish a championship culture across multiple programs. Reed, who led Jackson State women's basketball before leaving for Charlotte, told HBCU Legends that Robinson's leadership extended beyond wins and losses.

“Ashley is an excellent leader because he cares about his coaches,” Reed told HBCU Legends after Robinson accepted the Texas Southern position. “He went above and beyond for me to be successful. … He is personable. He knows how to connect with people and get them to run through a brick wall for him. He has a vision, and he knows how to get everyone on board to take the proper steps to see it through.”

Reed also pointed to Robinson's attention across the athletics department.

“He treats everyone the same, which is rare. Most people only focus on football and men’s basketball. Ashley focused and worked hard for all sports,” Reed said. “He knew how to turn it off and when to turn it on. He didn’t stress about much, which is why he was successful. He knew how to control the controllables.”

Robinson's tenure at Jackson State, however, has also raised financial questions. Sportico reported that the athletics department relied more heavily on institutional subsidies and generated less revenue after Sanders departed for Colorado.

At Texas Southern, Robinson's tenure will inevitably be measured against what he accomplished at Jackson State.

So what was it about Robinson's candidacy that Benham trusted?

His answer returned to the process.

“Great person, great background, and the result of a great process,” Benham said. “You do have to trust your president, and I do. And you do have to trust the people … especially on the search committee and search firm.”

Benham acknowledged that Robinson emerged from what he believed was a deep candidate pool.

“There were a lot of impressive candidates, right? There had to be.”

But when asked about Robinson, Benham's confidence ultimately rested not only in the candidate but in the process that produced him.

“I think it’s a great day for Texas Southern. … We have a fantastic athletic director that’s stepping in who’s focused on the right things. And I think we’ve got a fantastic new head men’s basketball coach that’s here to win.”

August 19, 2026; Texas Southern University President James W. Crawford interview with Kyle T. Mosley of HBCU Legends before the introductory press conference for Ashley Robinson (VP/AD) and Corey Lowery (Head Coach, Men's Basketball) at H&PE Arena in Houston, Texas. | Mandatory Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends on SI

What this interview did not settle

The confidence on both sides of the table sits alongside questions the conversation did not reach in its allotted time.

Robinson cleared the Personnel and Athletics committees unanimously last week. Those same committees split on Lowery, and the full board moved on Crawford’s recommendation anyway.

HBCU Legends reported that both hires carry five-year deals with $350,000 base salaries. Terrance Harris of the Houston Defender wrote that Lowery exchanged emails with a current TSU player on Aug. 9 while still employed at Seton Hall and before board approval — contact the Defender characterized as potential tampering and a possible secondary NCAA infraction. Texas Southern has not publicly addressed that reporting, and neither Crawford nor Benham was asked about it during the interview.

Lowery’s employment history before he returned to college coaching also remains unexplained publicly. New Jersey outlet TAPinto reported that he was placed on paid administrative leave as principal of Union High School in September 2018 and was later named in a lawsuit filed by that school’s athletic director. Texas Southern has not said what its background check revealed.

Nor did the interview settle the status of interim coach Shyrone Chatman. Chatman has led the Tigers since April, while he and his staff recruited the incoming class and built the non-conference schedule.

Players and alums publicly supported his retention and participated in campus demonstrations before the Aug. 19 board meeting. The university has not said whether Chatman or members of his staff will remain as members of Lowery’s staff.

The bottom line

Near the end of the interview, Crawford hinted that more was in store for Texas Southern University.

“I’m not done yet, so I’m going to leave you with that. We can talk about that later when it comes into fruition.”

After more than a year of waiting, Texas Southern finally has a permanent athletic director. At Jackson State, Robinson's coaching appointees helped elevate Tigers athletics to national relevance.

Now, with Robinson leading the athletics department and 2021-22 CIAA Coach of the Year Corey Lowery leading men's basketball, the Texas Southern community will ultimately judge the searches by the results. Though much of the process, by design, unfolded outside public view.

Near the end of the conversation, HBCU Legends called Texas Southern “a crown jewel that’s just untapped.”

“There you go,” Crawford said.

Benham agreed. “It’s a phenomenal place. It really is.”

The next 12 months will help determine whether that process produces the results Crawford and Benham believe it will.

If Ashley Robinson and Corey Lowery win at Texas Southern, the searches that produced them will stop being a story and become lore.

Until then, 3100 Cleburne Street in Houston’s Third Ward is the new home of two men charged with bringing leadership and stability to an athletics department that spent a year in uncertainty — and to a basketball program with the history to be among HBCU basketball’s elite.

Kyle T. Mosley covers HBCU athletics for HBCU Legends on SI. He interviewed Texas Southern President James W. Crawford III and Board of Regents Chairman James M. Benham in Houston on Aug. 19, 2026, following the Board of Regents’ special session. All quotations are from the recorded interview unless otherwise noted.

HBCU LEGENDS PODCAST

Add us as a preferred source on Google