Donte’ Jackson was coach and athletic director in the NAIA a year ago. Now he’s an award-winning Division I coach.
Jackson was announced as the winner of the Ben Jobe Award on Monday after leading Grambling to a 17-15 record and a SWAC regular season title in his first season.
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Check out the release below.
SAN ANTONIO, TX — Grambling’s Donte’ Jackson is the recipient of the 2018 Ben Jobe Award, which is presented annually to the top minority coach in college basketball.Jackson led the Tigers to one of the best-ever season as a Division I program. They finished 17-14 overall and 13-5 in the SWAC, which secured the outright regular season title in the SWAC. It was Grambling State’s first SWAC regular season title in 30 years (1988-89) and first winning season since the 2005-06 season.“Donte’ Jackson turned a tough situation into a championship,” said CollegeInsider.com’s Angela Lento. “After a great run at Stillman College, look for Jackson to continue to have success in the coming years at Grambling.”The Tiger received national attention on Dec. 1 with a 64-63 win over Georgia Tech. Jackson’s team would also set a school record with 11 consecutive wins.
Grambling’s championship season also earned Jackson SWAC Coach of the year and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 23 Coach of the Year as well.
The Ben Jobe Award is presented annually to the top minority coach in Division I men’s basketball. An icon in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Jobe is best known as the head coach of the Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons.
His record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also coached the Jaguars to one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles and two NAIA Tournament Championships. Perhaps his most memorable moment as a coach was Southern’s 93-78 win over Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. It stands as one of the great upsets in the history of the event.
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Jackson was hired last spring after serving as coach and AD at Stillman College in Alabama.
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