Following the departure of former head coach Artis Maddox, the Benedict Tigers have announced their new leader for the men’s basketball program.
Longtime HBCU coach Dannton Jackson has been tabbed as Benedict College’s next men’s basketball coach, marking his first career NCAA head coaching job.
“I’m truly blessed and excited to be here at Benedict College,” said Jackson. “This is a special place with a proud legacy, and I’m ready to get to work. My goal is to build a program that our students, alumni, and the entire Benedict family can be proud of. We’re going to compete, we’re going to grow as men, and we’re going to win the right way—together.”
An alumnus of Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA), Jackson began his coaching career there, serving as an assistant on the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
In 2002, he was promoted to head coach of the men’s basketball team, a role he held for the next 13 seasons, excluding the 2005-2006 season, which was shut down due to Hurricane Katrina.
Jackson finished with an overall record of 294-130, guiding the Gold Nuggets to 10 NAIA National Tournament appearances.
Following stints as an assistant coach at the University of Albany and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), he was hired as head coach of Talladega College in 2022.
The XULA alum was tasked with taking over a Talladega team that had made it to the NAIA National Championship game the year before under head coach Chris Wright (now at Langston).
After posting a 12-17 record in his first year with the team, Jackson helped lead Talladega to consecutive 20-win seasons, including a 20-9 mark this past year.
Last season, Benedict College finished with a 6-22 overall record, a significant dropoff from a 23-8 record the previous year.
