Ben Jobe (1933-2017)
Teams coached: Talladega Tornadoes, Alabama State Hornets, South Carolina State Bulldogs, Denver Pioneers, Alabama A&M Bulldogs, Tuskegee Golden Tigers, Southern Jaguars
Talladega record^: 50-13 (.794)
Alabama State record^: 18-7 (.720)
South Carolina State record^: 93-44 (.679)
Denver record: 34-22 (.607)
Alabama A&M record^: 83-36 (.697)
Tuskegee record^: 38-70 (.352)
Southern record: 208-142 (.594)
Overall record^: 524-334 (.611)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (1987, 1988, 1989, 1993)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 1 (1990)
- SWAC Regular Season Champion: 3 (1988, 1989, 1990)
- SIAC (Div II) Regular Season Champion: 3 (1983, 1985, 1986)
- SWAC Tournament Champion: 4 (1987, 1988, 1989, 1993)
- SIAC (Div II) Tournament Champion: 1 (1986)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 2 (1985, 1986)
- NAIA Tournament Appearances: 1 (1970)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2001-2003 | Southern |
| 1996-2000 | Tuskegee |
| 1986-1996 | Southern |
| 1982-1986 | Alabama A&M |
| 1981-1982 | Georgia Tech (asst) |
| 1980-1981 | Denver Nuggets (asst) |
| 1978-1980 | Denver |
| 1973-1978 | South Carolina (asst) |
| 1968-1973 | South Carolina State |
| 1967-1968 | Alabama State |
| 1964-1967 | Talladega |
Ben Jobe Facts
- Ben W. Jobe
- Born March 2, 1933
- Died March 10, 2017
- Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
- Alma Mater: Fisk University (BA, 1956) / Tennessee State University (MA)
- Graduated from Pearl HS and Fisk University, both in Nashville; twice earned All-SIAC honors while at Fisk
- First coaching job was a one-year stint at Cameron HS (TN), followed by two years coaching in Sierra Leone in West Africa
- Spent three years as head coach at then-NAIA Independent Talladega (AL), going 50-13 overall
- After one year at Alabama State, Jobe coached for five seasons at South Carolina State
- Went to the NAIA Tournament in 1970; for the last two years of his tenure the program played in the D-I MEAC
- Left in 1973 to be an assistant under Frank McGuire at South Carolina, a role he held for five seasons
- Spent two seasons coaching Denver (33-21 overall), then was an assistant to Doug Moe with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets
- Returned to college in 1981, where he was on Bobby Cremins‘ first coaching staff at Georgia Tech
- Hired to be the head coach at (then D-II) Alabama A&M in 1982 and went 83-36 over four seasons at the helm
- Won the SIAC three times and went to the NCAA D-II Tournament twice (1985 and 1986)
- Arrived at Southern in 1986, coaching the Jaguars for the next ten seasons (and twelve overall)
- Went to the NCAA Tournament four times and NIT once, starting off his tenure with three-straight NCAA berths
- Won the SWAC title three times, the SWAC Tournament four times and finished .500 or better all ten seasons
- Two tenures at Southern separated by a four-year stint as head coach at D-II Tuskegee (AL), where he was 38-70 overall
- Came back to Southern for two more seasons, but lost 20 games each year and retired from coaching in 2003
- Since 2010, CollegeInsider has awarded the Ben Jobe Award to the top minority head coach of each D-I basketball season
- Passed away in 2017 in Montgomery, Alabama, just a week after his 84th birthday
- Survived by his wife, Regina, their two children and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren
Ben Jobe Coaching Tree
- Roman Banks (Southern)
- Don Corbett (North Carolina A&T, Lincoln College)
- Tommie Green (Southern)
- Otis Hughley, Jr. (Alabama A&M)
- Avery Johnson (Alabama, Brooklyn/New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks)
- Vann Pettaway (Alabama A&M)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NAIA levels; note that during Jobe’s tenures at Alabama State, South Carolina State and Alabama A&M, the programs were partially or fully competing below Division I
