Belinda Roby becomes Assistant Athletic Director; steps down as Tuskegee Women’s Basketball Coach

Belinda Roby

TUSKEGEE, Alabama  --  The Tuskegee University Department of Athletics announced that women’s basketball coach Belinda Roby will step down from the position after earning an overall record of 247-153 over a 13-season span. Roby, who also serves as the senior women’s administrator at the school, will be expanding this role to become the new Assistant Director of Athletics at Tuskegee University.

Essentially, Roby will be the #2 person in the chain of command within the athletic department, led by recently hired Athletic Director Curtis Campbell, who joined the staff at Tuskegee almost one month ago from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa.

 

“It’s really not a major change, because I’ve already been a member of the administration since I’ve been at Tuskegee University,” Roby said. “I’ll just be making the move from part-time to full-time. My job is to assist the AD in whatever areas of the department that he needs assistance in. I’ll be overseeing several different programs, and they are not just confined to basketball.”

Roby said that she had thoughts of stepping down for a couple of years, and felt that it was time to take a break from coaching college basketball.

 

Tarsha Askew

“This is not a decision that was made in June or July,” Roby said. “This is a decision that was made by consulting with the administration at the end of the basketball season. I made the decision that I wanted to get out of coaching, that I needed a break from coaching, and the administration assisted in my transition as a full-time administrator.”

With Roby stepping down at the helm of the Tigerette Basketball program, assistant coach Tarsha Askew will be taking over as interim head coach. Askew has served by Roby’s side for nearly every season that Roby has coached at TU.

 

“I think she’s more than prepared,” Roby said of her successor. “She’s been here 12 seasons, and I’ve allowed her to have a lot of input in practice and during game time. She’s more than prepared, and she will do a good job.”

 

Askew, who also currently serves as the head volleyball coach at Tuskegee, says that she does not feel any additional weight on her shoulders, as she is confident in her abilities to take over the reins.

 

“It hasn’t really set in yet, but this is something that has been talked about for a few years now,” Askew said. “It’s been in the making, and that opportunity is here. I know that this is a big task to fill, and I’m up to the challenge.”

Askew acknowledges that adjustments will have to take place, but that she still expects the basketball team to compete at a high level.

“It’s just them (the student-athletes) adjusting to me, and I’ve been there,” Askew said. “I’ve been a voice for them, but I wasn’t the main voice. It was Coach Roby’s team, but now my philosophies will be the last say.”

 

The Tigerettes had an overall record of 19-8 last year, with a trip to the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament. Some key seniors were lost to graduation, but with many players coming back for the 2013-14 season, Askew said that there hasn’t been much recruiting to do in the offseason.

 

“Because we had so many returning kids, there wasn’t that much recruiting for this upcoming season, and I think that it kind of worked out. We had so many returners, that we really didn’t have to go out and recruit a lot. But, this upcoming season (2014-2015) will be a big recruiting year.”

Askew said that she expects the program to maintain a high level of competitiveness, while competing to earn entry into and win games in the NCAA tournament. She also revealed that plans for finding a second assistant coach are underway this week, with Dietrich Randle returning to the bench to once again serve as assistant coach for this season.

 COURTESY TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION