Tia Jackson Joins Rutgers Women's Basketball Staff
Jun 23 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (June 23, 2011) – The Rutgers women’s basketball program has added Tia Jackson as an assistant coach, it was announced today by head coach C. Vivian Stringer. Jackson joins a Rutgers staff that features four former players who competed collegiately under Stringer.
“Tia Jackson is a tremendous addition to our present staff,” said Stringer. “A former player and team captain for me at Iowa, Tia was an exceptional student-athlete. She understands our program and embraces its objectives. As one of my former players, she has a unique ability to communicate to our players on what it takes to be successful. Her experiences are wide and varied at the highest levels. Tia brings great knowledge of the game, loyalty, enthusiasm and a commitment to excellence. We look forward to her joining our staff.”
"Being at Rutgers University and assisting Coach Stringer is like a dream come true,” said Jackson. “I began my most competitive basketball career playing for Coach Stringer at Iowa. I have believed in her, her vision, her commitment to this sport, and her dedication to her players for over 20 years now. And during this time she has grown from being my coach to becoming one of my greatest mentors. It gives me the greatest pleasure to be able to give back to someone who has given so much to me over the years. I am truly grateful for this opportunity to assist her and be a part of the Rutgers family."
Jackson arrives at Rutgers after a four-year stint as head coach at the University of Washington, where she led the Huskies to a pair of quarterfinal appearances at the Pac-10 Tournament. She also guided the Huskies into the postseason Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) in 2008-09 as they advanced to the second round. Jackson assembled a number of highly-touted recruiting classes during her time at Washington, including an 11th-ranked group in 2008 according to ESPN HoopGurlz.
Prior to taking over at Washington, Jackson spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Duke, where she helped lead the Blue Devils to the NCAA championship game in 2006 and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 2007. As a recruiting coordinator at Duke, Jackson attracted consecutive recruiting classes that ranked among the top five in the nation. She also signed four players who were named McDonald's All-American honorees.
Jackson spent six seasons as an assistant on the West Coast prior to joining the Duke staff. During the 1999-2000 season, she served under Tara VanDerveer at Stanford and helped lead the Cardinal to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She then spent five seasons at UCLA as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. While at UCLA, she was responsible for attracting two nationally-ranked top-10 recruiting classes that included four McDonald's and/or WBCA All-American selections.
A 1995 graduate of the University of Iowa, Jackson played for Stringer and helped lead the Hawkeyes to four top-25 rankings in five seasons before earning her bachelor's degree in media studies and film, emphasizing in television production and editing.
As a junior, Jackson helped Iowa to a 27-4 record, a berth in the NCAA Final Four and was named to the NCAA Mideast Regional All-Tournament team. She is ranked among the all-time leaders in Iowa history; currently sitting 18th in scoring (1,160), 18th in rebounding (507) and 11th in steals (168). For her career, she averaged 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Jackson was honored as an All-Big Ten Conference selection and a Street & Smith's Preseason All-American twice.
Upon graduation, Jackson accepted a position as an assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth. Following her first year as an assistant at VCU, she was drafted No. 9 overall by the Phoenix Mercury and played in the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997. Jackson helped lead the Mercury to the Western Conference title under Olympian and Basketball Hall of Fame honoree, Cheryl Miller. During her time with the Mercury, Jackson was a teammate to two-time Olympian and Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.
A native of Salisbury, Md., Jackson was an honorable mention high school All-American selection for Mardela Springs High School after scoring 3,108 points during her scholastic career.
