THE BEN JOBE AWARD

2018 Ben Jobe Award

April 2, 2018

THE 2018 JOBE AWARD
 

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.
 

2018 BEN JOBE AWARD FINALISTS

Tommy Amaker, Harvard
Kevin Baggett, Rider
Mike Boynton, Oklahoma State
Travis DeCuire, Montana
Earl Grant, Charleston
Ron Hunter, Georgia State
Donte’ Jackson, Grambling
Mike Jones, Radford
LaVall Jordan, Butler
Edward Joyner, Hampton
Bashir Mason, Wagner
Rob Murphy, Eastern Michigan
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Damon Stoudamire, Pacific
Dedrique Taylor, Fullerton
Reggie Witherspoon, Canisius
 
 

The Ben Jobe Award, which is presented annually to the top Division I minority coach, is named in honor of one of the finest men to ever college basketball.
 
Coach Jobe is an icon in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is best known as the head coach of the 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 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 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 history of the event.
 
The recipient of the 2023-24 award will be announced in April, in Phoenix, AZ site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.
 

The Ben Jobe award is presented annually to top minority coach in division I college basketball, as voted on by the award committee.
 
The 10-member voting committee consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
 
The award is presented annually at the site of the men's Division I NCAA basketball championship. 

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