Marcus Jackson, who coached Coe to national basketball tourney, dies

Marcus Jackson, who coached Coe College men’s basketball to some brilliant times in the 1970s, died last weekend.

Jackson’s record over three seasons at Coe was 66-14. In his second season, 1972-73, the Kohawks went 22-0 in the regular season, then won an NCAA tournament regional before succumbing to Assumption College in the national quarterfinals.

That team averaged 91 points per game and drew full houses to Coe’s Eby Fieldhouse. They hit 100 points on eight occasions, with a high of 113 in an era without the 3-point shot.

“We played full-court basketball, net to net,” Jackson said many years later. “Not many teams did that. We led the nation in scoring. It was good, exciting basketball.”

Jackson was 30 when he was hired from Baltimore Community College by Coe Athletic Director Barron Bremner in 1971. A Gazette story on Coe’s candidates for the job included this four-word paragraph:

Jackson is a Negro.

He became the first Black college head coach in Iowa. He also coached the Kohawks’ golf and cross country teams.

Jackson applied for basketball head coaching openings at Drake and Iowa in 1974. “I will say that in my interviews at Iowa and Drake that the people were overly concerned with how a Black coach would fit into their communities,” Jackson told The Gazette.

“I had the feeling that men at both schools would have liked offering me the job but they were afraid of being the first to make such a move.”

Iowa hired Lute Olson for its vacancy. A few months later, Jackson was hired to coach Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team.

“His winning attitude permeated several areas of campus life and we thank him,” said then-Coe President Leo Nussbaum.

“He panned out just about the way I expected,” Bremner said in 1997 when Jackson was added to Coe’s Athletic Hall of Fame. “He was strong in organization, motivation, the example he set.

“He drew the respect of the Coe family, the community, and conference opponents.”

After one year at Dartmouth, Jackson coached Wright State for three years. He was fired after going 45-37 in three years, and left coaching to go into business. He was a McDonald’s franchise operator in Ohio for 11 years.

As he was about to become a Coe Hall of Famer, Jackson said “I’m thankful and proud of my years at Coe and very honored by what Coe has done for me today. I have a great respect and love for this school.”

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