Maryland Love Connection: Matt and Dallas Robinson

Valentine's Day is special to former student-athletes Matt and Dallas Robinson because of their relationship. One of Dallas' sentimental memories of their young relationship was what Matt did to surprise her after both came home from practice a decade ago on Feb. 14.

"I remember when we came back to our apartment, he had decorated my room," Dallas said. "That was kind of cute. There was flowers in the hallway leading up to our apartment. …I just remember being really surprised when we got back from a long practice."

Both are looking forward to spending time with each other this year for the holiday. Nowadays, Matt and Dallas can be seen going out to nice restaurants in Baltimore on Valentine's Day.     

Matt and Dallas were once a football player and cheerleader power couple at the University of Maryland. The duo remained together through adulthood and later became coaches at the university for their respective sports.

Matt was a standout linebacker and safety for the Terps from 2010-14, and Dallas watched him play from the sidelines as a cheerleader from 2011-15. The two quickly connected and now, over a decade later, are married and living together in Baltimore, where they're raising a Goldendoodle named Kash, who is turning four years old in April.  

Matt was a sophomore, and Dallas was a freshman when they first met in 2011. Matt recalls seeing his future wife on Facebook, where he found out she was a cheerleader. It also helped that they had mutual friends in their respective sports who were already dating. They also went on to get married - Dexter and Brooke McDougle.

Dallas and Matt began seeing each other more as the cheerleading and football teams often hung out together. The two started dating in the fall of 2012, and suddenly, Dallas was cheering not only for the Terps but also for her boyfriend on the team. 

"It brought some more excitement to game day being able to cheer for someone personally rather than cheering as a team," Dallas said. "Obviously, it brought a different perspective to it, and we definitely had a lot of fun on the sidelines."

Their first date was a memorable one. Matt took Dallas to the nearby Regal Hyattsville Royale movie theater. Matt owned an old Volvo, and when they both finished watching the movie, they returned to his car, but he couldn't find his keys. On the car windshield, there was a note. Matt had left his keys in the car door, and someone gave them to somebody behind the desk in the lobby of a nearby apartment.  

"Pretty embarrassing first date," Dallas said.

The two athletes created many other lasting memories together at Maryland. 

 "Some of our best memories in college were just after the home games, especially after we won," Dallas said. "The whole football team, whole cheer team, we're pre-gaming and then we're all going out together. I just feel like those were some of our best memories having like joint parties together and all of us just being so close."

Matt graduated a year before Dallas, but he got injured the year they first met. He was granted a redshirt season and pursued his master's degree in supply chain management. They remained together at Maryland until 2015. 

Matt went on to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but his NFL career was short-lived. He also picked up a job in sales before starting a coaching career. In 2017, he became a graduate assistant on the defensive staff for UConn football. 

Dallas became an assistant coach for Maryland cheerleading and started nursing school around the same time.  

"We were doing long distance and there was a little bit of time apart from each other kind of in between Jacksonville and going to UConn," Matt said. "We were just young adults figuring it out."

Matt worked with UConn for two years before returning to Maryland in the same role. After a year on Michael Locksley's staff, he was promoted to defensive quality control. From 2019-21, Matt and Dallas were coaches at Maryland for the sports they used to play. 

However, the two were always busy. Dallas was also working in the emergency department in Baltimore City. 

"We'd be on campus at the same times and still not see each other which was kind of interesting," Dallas said. "I was working night shifts at the hospital and Matt was still GA or QC, so he was working super long hours. That year was just crazy. We'd go for days without even seeing each other and living in the same place in downtown Baltimore."

Dallas says their background as athletes allowed them to juggle busy schedules and demanding lifestyles. 

Matt and Dallas got engaged in September 2020 on Anna Maria Island in Florida. They joined a trip with their friends, but leading up to it, they were unsure if they would be going. The start of the 2020 football season was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to make the trip. Matt got the ring the day before and proposed to his Maryland sweetheart.

The pair got married on May 28, 2022. Matt recently finished his third season with the Baltimore Ravens as a defensive quality control coach working with the defensive front. Dallas was named co-head coach of Maryland cheerleading in July 2023 and continues to work as an aesthetic nurse for Pura Vida, a medspa and cosmetic laser center in Fulton, MD. 

"We are just really looking forward to seeing each other grow in our careers and I feel like we've already accomplished so many of our goals," Dallas said. "But it's been really cool seeing each other grow up and go through the struggles of adulthood and everything."