Mississippi Valley State hires Robinson as new athletic director

ITTA BENA, Miss. — Mississippi Valley State has hired Ashley Robinson to be its athletic director.

Robinson returns to his alma mater, where he was a standout basketball player in the early 2000s. He was also the school’s compliance director in 2007 and ’08.

He comes to MVSU after a three-year stint working in compliance and academic advising at Prairie View A&M.

Robinson will oversee a department that has one of the smallest budgets in NCAA Division I — $3.2 million in 2011.

Robinson is a native of Jackson, Miss., and says in a statement he is “elated that this opportunity brought me back home to the place it all began. Mississippi Valley State is embedded in my pedigree and I look forward to serving the institution, community, alumni and fans.”