Jamarra Robinson figured her job was in jeopardy when she was alerted of a mandatory meeting with human resources on Monday morning.
Returning from the FCSSA Region 8 State Tournament the previous week, the Indian River State College women’s basketball head coach requested time off this week. On Sunday evening, she received an email from IRSC athletic director Scott Kimmelman stating that her request would be denied due to the meeting.
“I was under the impression that I was going to be fired because why would you deny my vacation hours for the whole week just for a one-day meeting,” Robinson recalled. “The timeframe of the meeting was only 30 minutes, so it just didn’t make sense.”
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Her two assistant coaches also received the same email. The following morning, the trio was informed that the women’s basketball program would be eliminated as part of several changes to the athletic department.
The news still remains a shock days after it was made official.
“It’s tough and unfortunate,” Robinson said. “I finally got the chance to talk to a couple of my players and just hearing how they feel about it, it’s a tough situation. It didn’t just affect me or my staff, it affected the players and the community as well.”
Also gone is the school’s eSports program, which was only in existence for two seasons. Last October, it was announced that women’s volleyball would drop from NJCAA Division I to down to Division II, a move where athletes would no longer receive housing or meal-plan scholarships.
Previously the head coach of the St. Lucie West Centennial girls basketball team, Robinson took over the helm at IRSC in 2018 and enjoyed a solid six-year tenure, totaling a 101-71 record in that span. The team had a two-win season during the 2018-19 campaign, but won 69 percent of its games over the following five seasons. The Lady Pioneers won 19 of 31 games during the 2023-24 campaign.
IRSC the Lady Pioneers won the Southern Conference championship in 2023 and were conference runner-up in 2021, 2022 and 2024. IRSC advanced to the Region 8 State final four, earning runner-up honors in 2022. Additionally, Robinson had two players earn spots at NCAA Division I programs after graduating from Indian River in Breanna Campbell (Marshall) and Ta’Viyanna Habib (George Mason).
However, the success on the court wasn’t the only factor determining the program’s fate.
“During budget planning for the year beginning July 2023, the Athletics Department, in concert with Finance and Administration, set criteria for the continuation of athletic programs at the College,” IRSC Associate Vice President of Communications Suzanne Seldes said in a statement. “Among these criteria were student GPAs, retention rates, graduation rates, and the ability of the sports teams and their coaches to raise funds. Coaches were apprised of these critical performance metrics at the start of the academic year.
“The decision to eliminate the women’s basketball program, effective with the next academic year, was based on those or similar data. It is important to know that this was only one of the recent moves by the Athletics Department to ensure fiscal responsibility and stability.”
Robinson acknowledges the need to raise funds was emphasized as student-led fundraisers and summer camps were created to combat the financial issues. But she refutes being made aware of the whole criteria and argues that certain aspects of it weren’t met.
Robinson states that only two student-athletes under her watch did not graduate from Indian River. The program also had one semester during those six years in which it did not meet GPA requirements
“That’s the first time I’m hearing of that criteria being set,” Robinson responded. “As a coaching staff, we knew that there was a budget, but no one mentioned the criteria of GPAs and graduation. … To say that we were only successful on the floor and not in the classroom, that’s untrue. Our program is built on having a complete athlete, who is successful on and off the floor.”
Patrick Bernadeau is the high school sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Head coach Jamarra Robinson reacts to Indian River State cutting women’s basketball
