Ben Jobe: A Southern Legend

Ben Jobe, a Nashville, Tennessee native, was well known for whisking through the halls of what he would call home at the university located on the bluff, Southern University A&M College.
Although he also tenured at other Historically Black Colleges and Universities including: Tuskegee University, Talladega College, Alabama State University, South Carolina University, University of Denver, and Alabama A&M University.
Jobe’s work at these universities cannot compare to his assistant coaching with the University of South Carolina, Georgia Tech, and his brief stint as an assistant in the National Basketball Association with the Denver Nuggets. Jobe’s personality was all encompassing with his brilliant, never give up style.
Jobe served the as coach of the Southern University Jaguars in 1986 to 1996, then returning in 2001 for two consecutive seasons. He ended his career for good in 2003. In his 12 years at SU, Jobe compiled a 209-141 record and led the Jaguars to the NCAA tournament four times, as well as attending the National Invitational Tournament. Jobe also won five Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships and 11 Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships.
One of Jobe’s most notable performances was his leading Southern 93-76 against the ACC Champions, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, during the first round of the 1993 NCAA tournament in Tuscon, Arizona.
Jobe coached former player Avery Johnson, who played for the San Antonio Spurs as well as the late Charlotte Hornets player, Bobby Phils. Both players jerseys are retired in the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
Johnson had positive things to say regarding Jobe upon returning to Southern this year.
“Coach Jobe wouldn’t just allow excellence on the court, but in the classroom as well. He didn’t tolerate any failure within the classroom or that would be an automatic bench.”
Jobe, upon retirement from Southern in 2003 accumulated 524 wins in all of the teams he sequestered over 31 seasons of coaching, with a 61 win percentage.
With an award named for him for the top minority coach in Division I men’s basketball, Coach Jobe is an icon in the history of basketball at HBCUs. The last recipient of the Ben Jobe Award was Wills Wilson in 2014, but current SU coach Roman Banks was an award finalist.
Wills Wilson led A&M Corpus Christi to 18 wins in the Southland Conference for second place.
Jobe, now 81 years old, remains in the glory of a miraculous performance and the legendary status he held while coaching.