Prairie View A&M University Athletics

One of the most athletically-gifted individuals to ever attend Prairie View A&M, Carl Jackson became a standout on the gridiron as well as track and field during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The Bay City, Texas native graduated salutatorian from Hilliard High School, where he was a three-sport star (football, basketball, track) and served as senior class president. 

Jackson was recognized as the Panthers' Most Underrated Player in 1959 while excelling at Track and Field, winning the 1960 Gulf AAU Meet of Champions in the long jump. During the 1961- 62 academic year, Carl advanced to the National AAU Track Meet and finished as the runner-up with a career best leap of 25-3 ¾ feet, a mark which stood for nearly 20 years.

A four-time All SWAC long jumper, Jackson was just as solid in the classroom. He earned Academic All-American honors in 1961 along with the W. J. Minor and G. T. Ewell Awards, Excellence in Scholarship and was named Best All-Around Athlete. In 1962, Jackson was selected as Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

Jackson graduated from Prairie View A&M University, with a B. S. Degree in Physical Education in 1963 and a Master’s in 1975. After a 13-year coaching career at the junior high and high school ranks, Jackson joined North Texas State as the Offensive Backfield Coach for three years and followed Hayden Fry to the University of Iowa in 1979, where he served as the team’s Offensive Backfield Coach for the next 13 years, becoming the only coach in school history to be a part of each of the Hawkeyes' five Big Ten Championship wins and three Rose Bowl trips. Jackson also served as the team’s offensive coordinator from 1988-1991, and the Hawkeyes led the Big Ten in Total Offense and scoring while compiling a 10-1-1 mark in 1991. Jackson was honored by the Iowa Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc, for his involvement helping youth in 1993; the Prairie View Athletic Club also honored him with an Achievement Award in 1993.

Following his time in Iowa, Jackson joined the San Francisco 49ers as their Running Back Coach. During his five years in San Francisco, the 49ers made five straight NFL Playoff appearances, winning the 1995 Super Bowl. Jackson also coached in the 1993 and 1994 NFL Pro Bowls. He returned to the Lone Star state in 1997 and served as the Running Backs Coach at the University of Texas, coaching NCAA rushing and scoring leader, (Ricky Williams) for one season before returning to Lincoln High in Port Arthur. After a year, Carl was summoned back to Iowa and served nine years as the Hawkeyes’ Running Backs Coach before retiring in 2008 with 45 years of service in the sports industry.

Jackson was inducted into the Prairie View Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Bay City Black Cats Hall of Fame in 2002. A proud member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and the Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Jackson is also a member of the Prairie View A&M Foundation Board of Directors. He and his wife, Doris have two children, Carl, Jr. and Cheryl and two grandchildren, Cara and Aaron. They presently reside in Pearland.