Passages: Bryan Robbins, SMU Hall of Fame Diver and Coach, 78
Bryan Robbins, a Hall of Fame diver and diving coach who had a storied career at Southern Methodist University, passed away on Nov. 2. He was 78 years old.
Robbins was an All-American diver at SMU and coached Team USA at the 1976 Olympics and was slated to reprise that role in 1980 before the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Games.
Robbins was inducted to the Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame in 2012. Robbins was a native of Corpus Christi who won the 1963 Texas Age Group Swimming (TAGS) Diving Championships in 1963. A member of the Mustangs’ class of 1968, he won five Southwest Conference Championships and was a three-time All-American.
Robbins got into coaching soon after his graduation and coached the Mustangs from 1969-80. He led the team to 10 SWC titles and nine top-10 finishes at NCAAs. The two-time SWC Diving Coach of the Year (1975, 1979) coached Team USA at the 1976 Olympics, the 1979 World Championships and was slated to be the coach for the 1980 Olympics.
The 1976 Games saw Americans Phil Boggs and Jennifer Chandler win gold on 3-meter springboard, with the Americans added a silver (Greg Louganis on platform) and two bronze (Cynthia Potter on springboard, Deborah Wilson on platform). He also led Boggs and Louganis to world titles at the 1978 FINA World Championships. He coached the U.S. at the Pan American Games in 1975 and 1979.
Robbins was inducted to the SMU Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. He joined three of his diving pupils there.
Robbins is survived by his wife of 50 years, Laura, four children and many grandchildren.