Who is Grambling State head coach, Donte Jackson? Taking a look at the Tigers HC's coaching career

Donte Jackson made history on Wednesday, guiding Grambling State to their first win in the NCAA Tournament, beating Montana State, 88-81, in overtime of the Midwest Region First Four encounter at the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

Jackson and the Tigers, who made it to their first March Madness, will move on to the first round and face No. 1 seed Purdue on Friday night at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The 45-year-old Milwaukee native has coached the Tigers for seven years and guided the team to three Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season titles. Let's take a deep dive into his coaching career.

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Donte Jackson turns to coaching after Central State stint

Donte Jackson coached Grambling State to a first-round match against Purdue in the NCAA Tournament.

Jackson was a collegiate standout at Central State before venturing into coaching in the same school. He began as an assistant coach in 2003 and was promoted seven years later to head coach of the Marauders.

Jackson went 60-42 in his career with Division II Central State before taking up the coaching gig in Stillman. He coached the Tigers to three winning seasons and guided them to the SIAC tournament championship in 2016. That year, Stillman reached the regional semifinals of the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament.

However, Stillman was relegated to NAIA in the 2016-17 season, but that didn't faze Jackson, as he propelled the Tigers to a 22-5 record. In 2017, Jackson got his first taste of Division I coaching, signing up with Grambling State, and he made his presence felt right away.

Donte Jackson helped the Tigers to the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season title by going 13-5 in the conference and 17-14 overall. After winning the SWAC title in his first year, Grambling State struggled in the next four seasons, going 57-63.

The Tigers roared back to relevance in the 2022-23 season, when they won 22 of 30 games to take home the regular season title. Unfortunately, for Grambling, its NCAA Tournament aspirations were cut short after losing to Texas Southern in the SWAC title game.

This year, Jackson and his wards went back with a vengeance, completing the SWAC regular season-tournament double and securing a slot in the NCAA Tournament as one of eight teams that played in the First Four.

Donte Jackson wasn't happy about helping Grambling State to their first NCAA Tournament. He wanted more, and, on Wednesday, he guided the Tigers to the first round by beating Montana State in their battle for the No. 16 seed and the right to face Purdue.

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Donte Jackson says Grambling State win a "major exposure for our program"

After the game, Jackson was happy with the victory, saying that being in the NCAA Tournament and getting a first-round win means a lot for Grambling State.

"To play in the NCAA Tournament and get a first-round win, man this is just amazing! I think that it's just major exposure for our program," he said.

Donte Jackson noted that he would go back to the viewing room and start mapping out their plans for their next game against Purdue. The Tigers will have a tall task of stopping the Boilermakers' seven-foot-fourcenter Zach Edey.

He said that he's ready to throw everything at Edey to stop him and force an upset.

"We have to get to the room, pack up, figure it out, start our film. And just figure out how we can throw the whole house, the kitchen, the whatever at Zach Edey. We (have to) figure it out," Jackson said.

"Coach (Matt) Painter is one of the best coaches in the country, Nothing but a lot of respect for him. We'll let the chips fall where they may. They didn't expect us to win this one," he added.