Kelly Robins of Reno, Nevada, a 2003 graduate of University of the Ozarks and a former Eagles soccer player, has made a $127,500 gift for the soccer press box in the University’s new Wilson Athletic Complex.
The press box will be named Robins Nest in honor of the gift, according to University officials.
The University has raised approximately $8.85 million toward the $10.75 million complex, including the lead gift of $6.2 million from Mr. and Mrs. Thomas D. Wilson of Tulsa, Okla. The University is fund-raising the remaining $1.9 million of the project’s total cost and there are numerous naming rights available for various areas of the new complex, including the soccer and softball fields, BBQ deck, dugouts and locker spaces. Construction on the complex was completed earlier this semester.
Originally from Arkadelphia, Ark., Robins earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Ozarks in 2003 before going on to earn an MBA from the University of Nevada, Reno. He is the general manager for New Millennium, a Steel Dynamics company, in Reno.
Though he only played one year of soccer at Ozarks, he said he made life-long friends during his time on the team and at the University. One of those life-long friends was Eric Steinmiller ’01, a current member of the University’s Board of Trustees and a childhood friend whom he had grown up with in Arkadelphia.
“Eric was really the reason I had come to Ozarks originally and he continues to have an incredible passion and love for the University that can be infectious,” Robins said. “The guys who played soccer around that time really wanted to get involved in helping this project become a reality. We had a text thread going and the guys tried to inspire, and in some cases harass, others in the thread to donate and to be a part of this. Kind of tongue-in-cheek, I mentioned how it would be cool to name the press box Robins Nest, and they thought it was a great idea and really encouraged me, with a little peer pressure, to go ahead and do it.”
Robins visited the new athletic complex in late April during an alumni match to see the new complex. It was the first time he’s been back to campus since he graduated 22 years ago.
“Seeing today what the soccer program has done and the administration and coaches have built is absolutely incredible,” Robins said. “To see how far not only the athletic programs and facilities have come, but also the academics and beautification of the campus is amazing. It’s going to draw students from throughout this region and that’s an exciting thing. To be able to have a small part in that gives me a sense of pride. It makes you feel like you’re contributing in a positive way.”
Robins said he looks back at his time at Ozarks with a little bit of regret that he didn’t take better advantage of the academic opportunities he had at the University.
“After being away a few years and then going back to get my master’s degree, I realized that I missed out on a lot of opportunities to take advantage of the great academics and professors here,” he said. “Even though I believe I received a great education here, I realized that I had even more opportunities to really learn more and get so much more out of my academics. I think I was just young and didn’t realize it at the time, but now with some maturity and humility I can look back and see it. I think that was really a motivating factor for me to go ahead and get my master’s degree and to not take the academics for granted.”
Robins said looking back at his time at Ozarks, the social aspect of the campus is what he remembers the most.
“The diversity on campus was something I really appreciated; meeting people from throughout Central America and throughout the region,” Robins said. “It was really a special time. This sense of community and comradery really resonated with me and I’ve made life-long friends from my time here.”
Robins said he hopes his gift will play a small role in helping current and future students build the same kind of bond that he and his teammates and classmates built more than 20 years ago.
“I only played soccer my freshman year here, but I still formed a bond with the players and the team that I’m still close with today,” he said. “For me, it’s much more about supporting those types of relationships that sports can bring about and that also fosters an environment that brings in good quality student-athletes to the University. It’s not so much an emotional connection to the program and the team, but what that opportunity represents. This facility can help foster these types of relationships that these young men and women will have for the rest of their lives.”
Robins encourages other student-athletes and alumni to be a part of the Wilson Athletic Complex.
“I would tell other alumni that if you’re someone who treasured your experience here, either academically, athletically or socially, those experiences are only sustained through giving back,” Robins said. “It doesn’t matter what you can give, but if you can do something to honor the experience you had here and to be able to pass it on for future students. I think you would find that it can be very satisfying and fulfilling.”
After graduating from Ozarks, Robins started out as an international steel trader for Commerical Metals Company out of Dallas, Texas, before working for a renewable energy company. He has worked for New Millennium since 2010 and has served as general manager since 2020. He has also served as district sales manager and sales manager for the company, a division of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), that was founded in 1999 in Butler, Indiana. Today, it is one of the largest providers of high-performance structural steel joists, joist girders, and deck solutions for commercial steel construction projects.
Topics: Alumni Stories, Athletics, Giving