RALEIGH-Less than a week after apparently deciding to return to the sidelines as the head coach at N.C. State, Les Robinson resigned Friday afternoon after six turbulent seasons on and off the court.
"He was right [at the time he was hired], and he is right now for what he will be doing," Wolfpack athletics director Todd Turner said. "When Les came he was building more than a basketball program. We were changing a culture. He stands for all the good things we aspire to in athletics."
Robinson spent much of his six years cleaning up the Wolfpack's image off the court, but he inevitably will be remembered for what he did on the court. N.C. State lost a number of close games this season, finishing the year at 15-16.
Robinson's decision was not forced upon him. In fact, he was offered a two-year contract extension following the ACC Tournament this year. But after he decided to return early last week, he was swamped by criticism from a number of fans and one piece of mail in particular told him it was time to leave-a photo showing two wolves engaged in a fight.
"I got the picture," Robinson said. "We didn't want that-wolves fighting each other. We want the wolves united. We want them all together. You can't get anything done by fighting."
Robinson steps down with the most regular-season losses among Atlantic Coast Conference coaches in their first six years. He will move into the recently vacated position of associate athletics director, and he will be largely responsible for working on public relations within the basketball office.
N.C. State is expected to move quickly in its search for a new head coach. Turner will attempt to hire a coach before the April 10 signing day for recruits.
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