| Year | Record | Pct. |
| 1996-97 | 5-20 | .200 |
| 1997-98 | 8-19 | .296 |
| 1998-99 | 20-7 | .741 |
| '99-'00 | 12-17 | .414 |
| 2000-01 | 25-6 | .806 |
| 2001-02 | 24-7 | .774 |
| 2002-03 | 8-19 | .296 |
| 2003-04 | 14-14 | .500 |
| 2004-05 | 16-13 | .551 |
| 2005-06 | 23-7 | .766 |
| 2006-07 | 21-5 | .807 * |
| TOTAL | 176-134 | .567 |
* As of Feb. 22, 2007
. Named 1999 & 2001 CIAA Women's Basketball Coach of the Year
. Voted 2001 WBCA Division II District 3 Coach of the Year
[E-mail Coach Robinson]
Joli D. Robinson was announced as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at North Carolina Central University on August 15, 1996.
In her first six years at NCCU, Robinson has changed attitudes about the women's basketball program, becoming the winningest head coach in Lady Eagle history with 94 victories. Her teams have accounted for all three 20-win campaigns in the 27-year history of women's basketball at NCCU.
During the 2001-02 season, the Lady Eagles continued their reign of success. NCCU was the only school to make the return trip to the 2002 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Championships. The Lady Eagles advanced to the round of "Sweet 16" during the national tournament for the first time in school history before falling in the regional championship game to the host institution. The NCCU women also: achieved a No. 1 ranking in the South Atlantic Region poll (Feb. 27 - Final Poll) for the first time in Lady Eagle hoops history; captured the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Western Division regular season title for the third time in the past four years; finished the second consecutive season with an undefeated record at home, riding a 24-game home court win streak; and won 14 consecutive games from Nov. 23, 2001 to Feb. 2, 2002, the second-best win streak in Lady Eagle basketball history.
The 2000-01 campaign was a special one for Robinson, as the Lady Eagles established several new standards for women's basketball at NCCU: most overall victories (25); most regular season victories (22); longest winning streak (16); first undefeated record at home (12-0); highest NCAA regional ranking (No. 7 in final poll on Feb. 27); first at-large bid to NCAA Division II Tournament; and the first NCAA Tournament win for any women's sports team in NCCU history.
The Lady Eagles also captured the 2000-01 CIAA Western Division Championship, their second in the last three years.
The end to the 2000-01 season, however, was much brighter than the beginning for the Lady Eagles, particularly Coach Robinson. Three days before the start of the regular season, Robinson tore her Achilles' tendon during a faculty/staff versus students basketball game on NCCU's campus. She underwent surgery and spent the first half of the season on the sideline in a wheelchair and on crutches. Still, she never missed a game. Even after the final contest of the record-breaking season (a two-point loss in the regional semifinals to the No. 1 team in the country), Robinson had a slight limp as she crossed the mid-court line to shake hands with the opposing team.
For guiding the Lady Eagles to the winningest women's basketball campaign in school history, Robinson was selected as the 2001 Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II District 3 Coach of the Year. She was also recognized as the 2001 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, her second such honor in three seasons. Additionally, Robinson was named CIAA Coach of the Week four times during the regular season (Dec. 10, Jan. 6, Feb. 4, Feb, 17).
A former head coach for girls varsity basketball at Independence High School in Charlotte, Robinson was officially named to her post during a press conference on August 15, 1996.
Her first season at NCCU was a transitional one. With no time to recruit and no full-time assistant coach, Robinson's challenge was to be competitive. NCCU opened the season winning three of its first four games, before losing four games by three points or less and two overtime decisions during the remainder of the campaign. In spite of a 5-20 overall finish, the 1996-97 Lady Eagles were competitive and a new era of women's basketball had arrived at NCCU.
In 1997-98, NCCU opened the season by capturing the Lady Eagle Classic and winning five of its first eight games. The Lady Eagles then fell into a 1-15 slump, before winning the last two games of the regular season.
In 1998-99, Robinson led the Lady Eagles to the regular season CIAA Western Division Championship title and a 20-7 overall record, becoming the winningest women's basketball team in school history. (See "Lady Eagles Make History !!!) For her achievements, Robinson was selected as the 1999 CIAA Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.
In 1999-2000, the Lady Eagles advanced to the semifinals of the CIAA Tournament for the second consecutive year.
Life Before NCCU ...
From 1990 to 1996, Robinson directed the varsity girl's basketball squad at Independence High School to an overall record of 96-56. During her six-year tenure, she guided her team to back-to-back Conference Championships in 1993-94 and 1994-95. For her work, she was honored as the Conference Coach of the Year in 1994, and North Carolina High School Athletic Association Regional USAir Sportsmanship Award in 1995.
Along with her responsibilities to the girl's basketball program, Robinson was also the head coach of volleyball and track & field, as well as Department Chairperson and an instructor of Health and Physical Education at Independence.
Robinson, a native of Charlotte, NC, graduated from Charlotte Catholic High School in 1973. After graduating from Charlotte Catholic High, she entered Winston-Salem State University, where she played point guard for the Lady Ram basketball program for four seasons and earned a bachelor of science degree in 1977, with concentration Health and Physical Education.
That same year, she attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania to begin her graduate studies in Health and Physical Education. In 1990, Robinson achieved her master's degree in Health and Physical Education from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.
Since beginning her coaching career in 1977, Robinson has coached basketball, track & field, softball and volleyball at four different school systems in Charlotte. She accepted her first coaching job at Wilson Junior High School, where she stayed for six years. Then, Robinson spent five years at Eastway Junior High School (1984-89), earning Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1986, one year at Hawthorne Traditional School (1989-90), where she was again named Conference Coach of the Year in 1990, and spent the last six years at Independence High School (1990-96).
Robinson has extended her vast experience to the community, as a coach for the A.A.U. Girl's Basketball League and an instructor for a variety of camps and clinics, including the Reebok Clinic at Queens College and the YES Clinic at UNC-Charlotte.
In the beginning ...
For four months while the University was conducting a nationwide search to fill the full-time head women's basketball coaching vacancy, the bulletin board outside of the Lady Eagle basketball office was empty.
One day after NCCU welcomed Robinson as the new head coach of the Lady Eagle basketball program, however, the bulletin board boasted a convincing message - "Attitudes are contagious ... is your's worth catching?"
Robinson's message not only firmly established her objectives as the new leader of the team, but informed the NCCU community that Lady Eagle basketball was about to change.
"As the head coach at NCCU, we will establish three guidelines - discipline, desire, and respect," she said. "Discipline enough to know our limitations. Desire to have the heart and motivation to attain our goals. And respect to assure a valuable relationship between peers and competitors."
A former head coach for girls varsity basketball at Independence High School in Charlotte, Robinson was officially named to her post during a press conference on August 15, 1996.
"North Carolina Central University was searching for an individual who could establish the Lady Eagles as one of the top basketball programs in the C.I.A.A. and the nation, both athletically and academically," Dr. William E. Lide, Director of Athletics said during the announcement. "I am confident that we have found the person to accomplish these goals in Joli Robinson."
For Robinson, the opportunity to coach at NCCU was a dream come true. "Basketball became a part of my life in elementary school extending through high school and college at Winston-Salem State University," the Lady Eagle coach said. "Since that time, I have spent many nights and many years dreaming of becoming a college coach in the C.I.A.A."