Tremaine Jackson, a former HBCU football player at Texas Southern University, made history in 2022 when he became the first black head coach in the history of Valdosta State University. Jackson is on the verge of history again, aiming to become the first black head coach to win the Division II football championship game since its inception in 1973. VSU takes on former champion Ferris State on Dec. 21 for the title.
Jackson replaced Gary Goff in 2022, who left to be the head coach at McNeese State. Jackson’s ascension into the position also made him the first black head football coach for a Gulf South Conference football program, traditionally one of the toughest conferences in D2 football. But change could be in the air, now that the Gulf South Conference will lose four of its eight members heading into 2025.
In 2023, his second season at VSU, he led Valdosta State to the Gulf South Conference championship, becoming the first black coach in conference history to win the title.
VSU was the second head coaching opportunity for Jackson. He left the same position at Colorado Mesa University, a Division II school out of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). At CMU, Jackson engineered an 8-2 record during the 2021 season, and the Mavericks finished just outside of the playoffs in Super Region 4. CMU also upset national semifinalist and rival Colorado School of Mines during the regular season.
Jackson built his career as a defensive coach. He was defensive coordinator at the Division II (University of Sioux Falls) and FCS (Abilene Christian, Texas Southern) level. He was the defensive line coach at TSU when it won the SWAC title in 2010. That year, TSU led the country in total defense, sacks, and tackles for loss.
Jackson has rare opportunity for non HBCU coaches
Black head coaches at the Division II level rarely get an opportunity to lead a premier program. The best performances by black head coaches have occurred at HBCU institutions. In contrast, Valdosta State has been a school that has knocked HBCUs out of contention, mainly because of the significant gap in scholarship and money available for coaching resources.
In this year’s playoffs, Valdosta State, the No. 1 overall seed, defeated both HBCU schools that qualified for the postseason. VSU defeated Miles College in the second round 33-17 before defeating Virginia Union 49-14 in the quarterfinals.
Valdosta State defeated two HBCU schools during the regular season. Albany State fell in a 42-10 game to open the season, while Fayetteville State traveled to VSU and was blanked 34-0.
Only two other black head coaches have coached in the DII National Championship game before. Connell Maynor took Winston-Salem State to the 2012 title game, losing to Valdosta State. Billy Joe took Central State to the championship game in 1983 but lost to North Dakota State.
Jackson played on the defensive line at Texas Southern for two years after transferring from the University of Louisiana-Monroe. He is a 2006 graduate of the University of Houston.