Oregon State Fires Craig Robinson, Obama's Brother-in-Law

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Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson, right, watches his team play Akron along with his brother-in-law President Barack Obama, top center, and his sister the first lady Michelle Obama, top left, in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Diamond Head Classic Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, in Honolulu.

Image: Eugene Tanner/Associated Press

By Patrick Gillespie and Alex Magdaleno2014-05-06 00:18:42 UTC

Oregon State University fired head basketball coach Craig Robinson, President Obama's brother-in-law, on Monday.

Robinson is the fourth-winningest coach in the school's history — boasting a 94-105 record in six years with the team — and had three more years remaining on his contract. Robinson is expected to receive more than a $4 million buyout from the school.

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In a statement released by Oregon State, athletic director Bob De Carolis thanked Robinson and his family for their contributions to the school.

"This was a difficult decision, but after further evaluation, I believe it is in the best interests of our student-athletes, our basketball program and our university," said De Carolis.

De Carolis continued in the statement by noting his expectations for the new coach.

“Like all athletic directors, I want a coach who will recruit elite student-athletes who can compete at the highest levels and who will earn their degrees,” said De Carolis. “We want teams who will contend for championships on an annual basis and who will represent Oregon State with class and dignity."

The decision is somewhat unusual, as it comes six weeks after the 2013-14 season ended. According to a report from CBS Sports, as recently as a week ago Robinson and his coaching staff were recruiting guard Nick Faust from University of Maryland; Faust formally transferred to the Beavers five days ago.

In its last season, Oregon State went 16-16 (8-10 in the Pac-12 conference). Under Robinson's six-season tenure, the Beavers never made an NCAA tournament appearance and had just one winning season — 2011-12, when the team went 21-15 — its best record in two decades.

Before OSU, Robinson coached at Brown University and was an assistant coach at Northwestern University.

Robinson's tenure as coach at OSU began with an 18-win season in 2008-09, the years Obama first campaigned and was inaugurated as president, respectively. He has been occasionally involved politically; he introduced his sister Michelle Obama at the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver and did an interview after Obama was elected about the president's famous keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention.

Robinson has publicly complimented his brother-in-law on his basketball game and the first family attended one of Robinson's more notable victories last November when the Beavers won on the road at Maryland.

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Topics: basketball, Entertainment, Barack Obama, oregon state university, Sports, U.S.