Oral History Collection
| MAIN ENTRY: | Robison, Polk |
| DATE OF INTERVIEW: | May 16 and 23 and June 21, 1979 |
| LOCATION OF INTERVIEW: | Lubbock, Texas |
| INTERVIEWER: | Ralph Sellmeyer, Bobby Weaver |
| LENGTH OF INTERVIEW: | 3 hours, 50 minutes (total) |
| SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: | Polk Robison, former head basketball coach and athletic director at Texas Tech University, discusses his coaching experiences, relates the history of the Tech athletic program, and comments on Texas Tech and the Southwest Conference. |
| TAPE ONE, SIDE ONE: | Texas Tech Basketball Coaching staff Assistant football coach (1942) Worked for General Motors Jones Stadium (1942) Dell Morgan Left Texas Tech (1934) Returned to Tech (1941) Personality Killed in a car wreck |
| TAPE ONE, SIDE TWO | Dell Morgan (continued) Defensive strategist Pete Cawthon J. T. King Steve Sloan Basketball Civic Center Closed circuit television Football program Improvement Funding Budget Stadium Future plans |
| TAPE TWO, SIDE ONE: | Depression Campus jobs Texas Technological College Texas Technological College Hazing Housing situation Athletic Department Athletic Department Revenue Letter sports Conference Football Basketball, Dick Paine Coaches Athletes Campus activities Majors Basketball "Old Barn" home court Coliseum Crowds |
| TAPE TWO, SIDE TWO: | Basketball (continued) Opponents Students Matador Club (1930) Supporters Lubbock residents Revenue Red Raider Club Athletes Home towns Area boys Games House of David Border Conference (won 1933, 1934) Players Career coaching (1934) Burkburnett, Texas (7 years) Career, oil company (3 years) Shasta Oil Company Texas Technological College (1942) |
| TAPE THREE, SIDE ONE: | Career coaching (continued) Arlington, Texas, offer A. J. Willis Texas Technological College (1942) Basketball program Athletic staff War times Army and Air Force programs Paper work Bus trips Texas Christian University (1944) Players Psychology War time athletics Teams Audiences Football Basketball Coach Dell Morgan Army and Air Force programs, revenue Scholarship program, freshmen Post-war athletic program (1946) Recruiting Conferences National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Ex-servicemen |
| TAPE THREE, SIDE TWO: | Recruiting Parents Attitudes Black athletes, Texas (1963) Post-war staff Coach Nichols (1946) Coach Berl Huffman Specialization Athletic program Expansion Red Raider Club (1950s) Matador Club support during war Sports added after World War II Swimming Soccer Southwest Conference Teams Arenas Moody Coliseum Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (1956) Games Network coverage North Carolina State Basketball coaching Assistants Bill Miller (1953) Football (1951) Coaches |
| TAPE FOUR, SIDE ONE: | Attitudes toward Southwest Conference Membership Schedules Morley Jennings (1941) Influence with the Southwest Conference War times and the Southwest Conference Membership in Southwest Conference Preston Smith, state legislator Proposal Mr. Woodward, chairman, University of Texas Board Border Conference Finances Lubbock and Southwest Conference Pressure from businesses Support Clifford B. Jones Hardin-Simmons University Southwest Conference Wichita Falls, Texas Votes in Southwest Conference Southern Methodist University Basketball NCAA Conference games University of Arkansas |
| TAPE FOUR, SIDE TWO: | University of Arkansas (continued) Coach, basketball Admission to Southwest Conference Requirements Southwest Conference Texas Tech University Private universities Problems Schedules Athletic department Texas Tech University Debts Recruitment Polk Robison, Athletic Director Athletes Football Basketball Baseball program |
| RANGE DATES: | 1930-1979 |
| BULK DATES: | 1930-c.1960 |