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