John Robic no longer with Kentucky basketball, wife announces

John Robic, a longtime assistant coach under John Calipari and later an administrator in the athletic department, is no longer with the Kentucky basketball program.

The veteran coach’s wife, Heidi Willett Robic, announced the news on social media, adding that “it was not what we wanted or expected or deserved,” but happened nonetheless. She shared the news as part of a bigger story to put a spotlight on the veteran coach and his ability to navigate through tragedy and help others through the pain.

The Robic family lost their 27-year-old daughter, Hayley, after a difficult battle with liver cancer back in April of 2020. Following the recent tornadoes that tore through Western Kentucky, Robic felt the urge to pack his car with supplies and drive down to help those in need in hopes of relieving some of the same grief he felt with his own daughter since her tragic passing.

“Losing a loved one at any age is a tragedy,” Robic shared. “The grief is real and deep regardless of how many years they were granted. Losing a child it is said there is no greater grief and I know that to be true, unfortunately. All grief changes us in some ways but particularly losing a child is something one cannot fathom unless it happens to them. Today I witnessed something that was born directly through grief and the ways in which it changes us. Empathy and perspective..….today I saw it in a man that has been too busy his whole adult life to feel its depths. Those of you that know me know I rarely post about my husband. I just don’t. But today I am infinitely proud of him and want to give him a shout out. John is no longer in his position at UK. Some know…some don’t. It was not what we wanted or expected or deserved but nonetheless, it happened.

“I say this to magnify the fact that he has no agenda.…..we have no reason to need a pat on the back, he has no reason to be recognized. Today I came downstairs to him watching the news. He turned to me and said he feels like he wants to pack his car with water and drive to Western KY. He feels the need to help these poor people for no other reason than he knows grief. He probably wouldn’t like me putting this out there but for a guy who has worked behind the scenes never getting any credit, I feel compelled to give him this.

“Losing Hayley was devastating. Something we will never recover from fully and certainly something that has no hidden blessings. But I will say today?? I am proud of this man. I am proud of his growth, his integrity, his empathy and his willingness to do something for others just to do it. Needing no credit, no acknowledgment, no hidden agenda. He knows grief like few others and instead of being bitter (which there are those days) he is trying to be better. I don’t give this guy a whole lot of props because then he’d be hell to live with (haha) but today I am.

“Today he deserves what he always has. Respect and acknowledgments. Please help.”

John Robic’s wife posted this today on Facebook

Awesome gesture. Robic is no longer with Kentucky but remains a good man who has gone through a lot and gave much to Kentucky basketball pic.twitter.com/pxpX66jxo9

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) December 21, 2021

Robic has been with Calipari for 24 years dating back to their time together at UMass in 1988-89. He was an assistant at Kentucky for seven seasons before transitioning to a special assistant to the head coach role in 2015-16. This past offseason, Robic transitioned into an administration role within the athletic department.