It wasn’t a requirement but winning a NCAA Tournament game solidified Grambling head coach Donte’ Jackson as a hot commodity in college basketball. On Friday morning Grambling ensured that Jackson would hang around the HBCU ranks for a few more seasons, awarding him with a contract extension through the 2029 season.
“Coach Jackson is without a doubt one of the best basketball coaches in the country and we are blessed that he’s the leader of our men’s basketball program,” said Dr. Trayvean D. Scott, Grambling’s Athletic Director. “He has taken our program to heights that haven’t been seen for decades and we are confident that he will continue to be successful and mold our student-athletes into men who represent our institution the right way.”
Since coming to Grambling in 2017 Jackson has proven to be a consistent winner at the helm for the Tigers. He’s won three SWAC regular season titles during that time frame as well as three SWAC Coach of the Year awards. Last season was a real shining star for Grambling, winning its first ever SWAC tournament title. Jackson then won his first NCAA tournament game, beating Montana State 88-81 in the First Four. Grambling won then lose in the opening round after taking on No. 1 seed Purdue.
In April of 2023 Grambling extended Jackson’s contract to run through 2028 with a then four year extension.
Moving up the leaderboard
Even though Jackson has only been at Grambling for seven years, he’s already second on the all-time wins list. Jackson has picked up 120 wins at Grambling, only just the second coach in school history to past the century mark. He trails the legendary Fredrick C. Hobdy in all time wins at the school.
Jackson has twice been named the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year. During the 2022-23 season, he guided GSU to 24 wins — its most wins in a single season since joining Division I in 1977.
Donte’ Jackson was no stranger to HBCU basketball before arriving at Grambling. Prior to GSU, Jackson spent three seasons as the head men’s basketball coach at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. During his time there, he went 66-21 overall and won the 2016 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament, where they defeated West Georgia in the first round.