Barbara Jacket
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 26, 1934 Port Arthur, Texas |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1965-91 | Prairie View A&M |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1990-95 | Prairie View A&M |
Barbara J. Jacket (born December 26, 1934) is an American retired track and field coach. She was the women's track and field head coach for Prairie View A&M from 1965 to 1991. While with the university, Jacket won ten National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics titles and was promoted to athletic director in 1990. Apart from college athletics, Jacket was the second African-American woman to become an Olympic head coach for the United States when she coached the American women's track and field team at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Jacket was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
Early life and education
On December 26, 1934, Jacket was born in Port Arthur, Texas with two siblings. For her post-secondary education, Jacket went to Tuskegee University with a basketball scholarship and obtained a Physical Education Bachelor of Science in 1958. She later received a Master of Education at Prairie View A&M University in 1968.[1][2]
Career
Jacket began her coaching career teaching basketball in Eufaula, Alabama and Port Arthur, Texas before joining Prairie View A&M as a swimming instructor in 1964.[3][2] The following year, Jacket established the Prairie View A&M Panthers and Lady Panthers track and field team in 1965 as their head coach. During her coaching tenure with Prairie View A&M until 1991, Jacket was the winning coach of ten National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championships and fourteen Southwestern Athletic Conference titles in track and field.[4] Outside of college athletics, Jacket was the head coach of the United States national track and field team in multiple events from the 1970s to 1980s, which included the 1979 Pan American Games, 1987 World Championships in Athletics and 1992 Summer Olympics.[5] Her Olympic appointment made Jacket the second ever African-American woman Olympic head coach for the United States in history.[6] Apart from coaching, Jacket was the athletic director for Prairie View A&M from 1990 to 1995 and taught health for the university during the 2000s.[3] Jacket ended her career with Prairie View A&M in 2010 upon retirement.[7]
Personal life
Jacket was arrested in 1990 on the charges of document fraud and misconduct.[8]
Awards and honors
Jacket was inducted into the Prairie View A&M University Sports Hall Of Fame in 1992.[9] Additionally, Jacket was named into include the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association hall of fame in 2001.[10][11]
References
- ^ "Barbara Jacket". Museum of the Gulf Coast. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ a b "The Women of Prairie View: Barbara Jacket". Prairie View A&M University. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Former PVAMU coach inducted into hall of fame". Houston Chronicle. 13 December 2001. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ Murrell, I.C. (18 January 2018). "Reception honoring track coaching great Jacket set for Saturday in Richmond". Port Arthur News. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ Hine, Darlene Clark (2005). "Jacket, Barbara J.". Black Women in America. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. pp. 113. ISBN 9780195156775.
- ^ Pierce, PJ (2003). "Let Me Tell You what I've Learned": Texas Wisewomen Speak. University of Texas Press. p. 126. ISBN 0292765932. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ Du Four, Linda (15 June 2010). "Prairie View honors Jacket upon her retirement". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ "Olympic Women's Track Coach Arrested". Los Angeles Times. 18 October 1990. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ "Barbara Jacket (1992)". Prairie View A&M University. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ "International Women's Sports Hall of Fame". Women's Sports Foundation. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ "Barbara Jacket, USTFCCCA Class of 2001". U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
