Grambling State's Donte' Jackson Becomes A Two-Time Ben Jobe Award Winner
Presented annually to the top minority head coach in Division I college basketball.
Grambling' State's Donte Jackson has been named the 2024 Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year. The award is presented annually to the top minority head coach in Division I college basketball.
After leading Grambling to a historic season, Donte Jackson became the first coach to win the Jobe Award twice, having previously won the award in 2018.
Not only did Jackson lead Grambling to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, but his team capitalized once they got there. The Tigers rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to defeat Montana State in overtime in their First Four matchup.
Grambling State head coach Donte Jackson
USA Today Sports
Grambling won the SWAC regular season championship for the second consecutive season, finishing with a 24-9 record and defeated nemesis Texas Southern in the SWAC conference tournament title game.
Jackson has a 120-102 record in seven seasons at Grambling, including an 80-42 mark in SWAC games.
"Donte Jackson has rewritten the narrative about Grambling basketball in the Division I era," Angela Lento, Vice President of CollegeInsider.com said. Prior to his arrival, the program struggled for decades, finishing above .500 in conference play just eight times in 40 years. He has taken Grambling from second-division status to the top of the SWAC. Donte Jackson is the best coach in Grambling's Division I history."
Feb 18, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Grambling State University Tigers head coach Donte' Jackson
Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports
The Ben Jobe Award is named in honor of one of the most iconic coaches in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. (HBCUs). He is best known as the head coach of Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He was also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee, and South Carolina State.
His record at Southern was 209-141, including four NCAA Tournament appearances. He 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
leading No. 15 seed Southern to a 93-78 win over No. 2 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. It stands as one of the great upsets in the event's history.
Coach Jobe passed away on March 10, 2017.
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches and two senior staff members of Collegeinsider.com.