Tennessee Mourns the Passing of Judy Jackson

A key member of the Tennessee Athletics family passed away earlier this week.

Judy Jackson, or "Ms. J" as she was called by the hundreds of student-athletes whose lives she impacted, worked as the athletics department's assistant and associate director of student life as well as the associate director of student athlete welfare for the football team during her time on Rocky Top from 1992 to 2009. She also worked in the college of education from 1978 to 1992.

Jackson was a mother away from home for the Vols and was made an honorary letterman in 2001. In 2002, Albert Haynesworth started a scholarship in her name. Beginning in 1998, UT football head coach Phillip Fulmer received permission from the SEC to take "Ms. J" on the road recruiting after he had a staff departure – a monumental moment for women working in football and sports in general.

She was the mother of two and had five grandchildren, but she treated all of the Vols as a part of her family.

As Chris Low wrote in the Tennessean in 1999, Judy "was an academic advisor, social counselor, voice or reason and a mother away from home – all rolled into one."

"Judy Jackson was an amazing woman, a dear friend, and a very important part of our Tennessee football family from 1992 to 2009," Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer said. "Mrs. Judy was deeply loved by our football student-athletes and she loved them back every day. She was a rock for them when needed and an example of respect and class when needed. Judy was a very important part of our success during that era of Tennessee football. We will all miss her, but she certainly left her mark on us all."

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Below is a story on "Ms. J" written by Randy Moore for Rocky Top Magazine in 2007:

Coach Judy
Jackson fills many roles for the Vols

When ace recruiter Rodney Garner left to join the University of Georgia staff in January of 1998, Tennessee's football program found itself short-handed with just one month remaining until National Signing Day.

Desperately needing someone to fill the void, head coach Phillip Fulmer decided that the best man for the job was … a woman.

Judy Jackson already was involved in on-campus recruiting, so Fulmer figured she could handle the added responsibility of in-home recruiting. So, the head man sent his administrative assistant to tell Jackson she soon would be joining the football staff.

"David Blackburn came to me and said, 'Coach wants you to take this test and go on the road,'" Jackson says, laughing at the recollection. "It already had been discussed with Carmen Tegano, who was in charge of the Student Life Department and my boss at the time."

Knowing the Vols were in a pinch with Garner gone, Jackson agreed to join the staff. She quickly realized what a daunting challenge it would be. Essentially, she had to memorize all of the guidelines set forth in the NCAA rule book, then pass the NCAA Coaches Certification exam.

"Once the decision was made, I was directed to get the NCAA manual and starting boning up," she says. "I was going to take the test, then go on the road."

When Fulmer announced the hiring of a woman as a temporary member of the football staff, the media took the story and ran with it. Suddenly, a low-profile academic advisor had become the hottest story in Southeastern Conference football.

"As I prepared to take the exam, I was thinking, 'What if I don't pass?' It already had been announced to the press what I was going to be doing," she recalls. "That was pressure, pressure, pressure."

Pressure nothing new to Judy Jackson, though. Her job in the athletics department consisted of helping convince visiting student-athletes to sign with Tennessee, then helping them adjust to the extraordinary athletic and academic demands of college life. So, the more she studied the NCAA rule book, the more confident she became that she could handle her new assignment.

"I was a little nervous at first but I already had been involved with all of the eligibility issues, so it wasn't as if I was going into unknown territory," she says. "I just had to get those things that were slightly fuzzy cleared out."

By the time she took the certification exam, Jackson probably knew the NCAA rule book better than 90 percent of the assistant coaches around the country.

"I did very well," she recalls. "I was pleased, and so was the administration, (athletics director) Doug Dickey and all of those people. They also liked how it was perceived the fan base and the community."

While Tennessee's fans were amused that Jackson would be making in-home visits with prospects, Tennessee's opponents were enraged. Several schools called SEC commissioner Roy Kramer to question the ethics of the move. Suddenly, Judy Jackson was the central figure in a firestorm.

"We were being reported to the NCAA and SEC because some of our rivals thought we were violating NCAA rules," she says. "We absolutely were not. They said, 'How could you possibly have this Black woman out here (on the road recruiting) when she's not a coach?'"

Actually, Judy Jackson WAS a coach. Having passed the certification exam,s he was perfectly qualified to visit prospects – off campus, as well as on campus. Still, Tennessee's rivals flooded the SEC office with complaints."

"Roy Kramer said he was getting calls about me all the time," Jackson recalls, unable to stifle a chuckle. "We became friends during that time because he heard a lot about Judy Jackson."

Still, there was nothing in the NCAA rules prohibiting a woman who passed the certification exam from visiting football prospects. As a result, Jackson got the greenlight to continue. She also got some strange looks when she showed up – accompanied by Fulmer or a full-time assistant – at a prospect's front door.

"The families were always very, very shocked because it hadn't happened before," she says. "Those parents had never seen a woman come to their home to recruit their sons."

Once the initial shock subsided, however, most of the moms and dads were won over by Jackson's charisma, her devotion to academics, her dedication to the school and her refreshing candor.

"I wanted to show them the University of Tennessee was a different kind of place, a place that values diversity and family environment," she says. "There was no agenda. I wasn't a clone. I had my own personality and my own concerns about the university. The parents saw that and appreciated that. Plus, I talked to them from a mom's perspective."

Jackson, who has two children and five grandchildren, assured prospects' mothers their sons would get the support, discipline and encouragement necessary to succeed at the college level. A lot of moms bought what Judy was selling. So did their sons, several of whom committed to the Vols during her in-home visits.

"Absolutely," she says.

How many?

"I'm not going to go into that," she says. "But I think my presence might have been the final nail for some of them. I'm sure several prospects were already coming, ant hey just happened to commit during my visit. Still, I think some of the female single parents might have been more comfortable because of my presence."

Jackson estimates that she visited "fifteen to twenty" prospects during January of 1998. She has no idea how many miles she drove or how many hours she spent aboard planes during that hectic stretch.

"I developed so much respect for our coaches during that time," she says. "I didn't realize how much work is involved in recruiting – the planes you jump on, the homes you visit, the short time frame you have to work with. Then coming back (to the office) and jumping right into the telephone calls and following up on everything. It's not a leisurely type of deal. I was amazed."

She was also a bit intimidated at first. After all, Rodney Garner had signed Jamal Lewis, Cosey Coleman, Deon Grant and Fred Weary – arguably the top four recruits in Tennessee's 1997 signing class. Filling Garner's shoes represented an imposing challenge.

"Oh man," Jackson says, laughing at the recollection. "I knew that was going to be rough."

Fortunately for Tennessee, she proved equal to the challenge. Whenever one of the assistant coaches needed help "closing" on a prospect, she'd hop on a plane and try to help him secure a commitment.

"I was never alone," she recalls. "I might visit a prospect with Coach Fulmer one day, then I might be sent to meet Coach (Steve) Caldwell in California or somewhere. They kind of passed me around a little."

Still, she never felt exploited. Instead, she felt elated that the coaches would trust her with a position of such importance.

"The best thing about that year was the coaches had enough confidence in me and respect for me to want to be a part of that process," she says. "To put off hiring another coach until we were finished made me feel very, very much part of the program. Basically, I was thinking: 'You guys really appreciate me, and I'm going to do a hell of a job for you.'"

She did a hell of a job, all right. Jackson's contribution was crucial in securing some of Tennessee's top recruits that winter. Several of the prospects she visited in-home were young men she had already hosted during their visits to the campus.
"Many of the homes I visited were families I had met on unofficial visits," she says. "All of the sudden they see this woman they'd gotten to know because of my presence on the sidelines on gamedays … they already knew me. I always make a little presentation to prospects when they visit on game days, show 'em the facilities and such. That gave me some face recognition."

It also gave her some credibility. Clearly, she wasn't just a prop in some recruiting slideshow. She was a major player in the university's academic/athletic system. As she puts it: "When you go into the homes and they recognize you, it's a plus because they know you're not just talking the talk; you're walking the walk."

Judy Jackson did such a good job "walking the walk" in January of '98 that Tennessee reeled in another big-time signing class that February, even without its ace recruiter.

"Rodney Garner was gone but we still brought in a top-five recruiting class," Jackson recalls, clearly proud of the accomplishment nine years after the fact.

Even so, she downplays her role in helping Tennessee regroup in the aftermath of Garner's departure. It was a team effort, she insists.

"Our staff has been around each other a long time," Jackson notes. "It's a very mature staff. And we really do have a family environment here. We know each other and respect each other. We have the same goals and the same commitment to our athletes and our fan base.

"Plus, it's not hard to convince prospective students to come to the University of Tennessee. It's not a hard sell. When you come to beautiful East Tennessee, life is good. Life is very good."

Apparently so. You see Judy Jackson a lot around the athletics department. You see her regularly at football practice. You see her on the sidelines during games. Wherever you see her, though, you see her smiling and/or laughing. Now in her 29th year with the university – 15th with the athletics department – she clearly relishes her role.

"I spent the first half of my career in the college of education," she says. "I was recruited in 1991 to work in the athletics department. I died and went to heaven. I'm in a place where I feel loved and appreciated. I love and I am loved. It's a mutual admiration."

Judy Jackson is loved, all right. Tennessee's players – past and present – show her a level of warmth and respect normally reserved for their moms. Obviously, many view her as a mother figure. No doubt, she has maternal feelings towards many of them. Still, she won't hesitate to chastise an athlete who shows lack of discipline or initiative.

"When they walk through the door they're going to get a big hug," she says. "But if they show out, they're going to get cussed out. It doesn't matter if it's Payton Manning or Tee Martin or whoever."

Naturally, Jackson has a deeper understanding of the players who welcomed her into their homes during her days as a recruiter.

"I knew the kind of home life they had – the pluses and minuses – so that gave me an idea of the obstacles they'd faced or the benefits they'd had," she notes. "When you're out there on the road you know those sorts of things."

Still, Jackson insists the prospects she helped sign are no more special to her than any other athlete.

"I try to treat every one of my guys the way I'd want my child treated," she says. "I try not to differentiate. It didn't matter if I visited them or not."

Jackson is so popular with Tennessee's former players that many routinely stop by to visit her whenever they are in town. Naturally, she finds these visits incredibly rewarding.

"They come back," she says, the pride in her voice unmistakable. "Cosey Coleman came by to visit me recently. He's been seven years in the NFL, and now he says he's retiring and coming back to school in the fall. He's had 96 starts in the NFL and he's a millionaire but he still says 'Yes, ma'am' to me. When he walks through that door he reverts to the Cosey Coleman he was when I first met him."

Jackson also stay in touch with the parents she has met through the years.

"I talked with Cosey's mother, Olivia, the other day," Jackson recalled. "She is so appreciative of what the university meant to Cosey and to her. She's so happy he chose Tennessee. I hear those stories all the time."

Because she proved so successful on the recruiting trail in 1998, Jackson still takes the NCAA Coaches Certification exam every year … just in case an assistant leaves and Fulmer enlists her for on-the-road duty again.

"I get certified every year," she says. "That way, if we get a coaching vacancy, Coach can send me out as an assistant. I have to become an assistant during those times."

Unfortunately, Jackson has discovered that studying for the certification exam becomes more difficult with each passing year.

"When I got here the NCAA manual looked like a small-town phone directory," she recalls. "Now it looks like a Knox County phone directory. It grows and grows."

Jackson says she has done more on-the-road recruiting the past few years. Her recent travels just didn't spark the furor they did back in '98.

"I've been out several more times since then," she says, "but it didn't spark the publicity it did the first time. That was the first time anybody in the NCAA had ever done it."

Asked how she felt returning to a regular desk job in '98 after her month-long crash course in big-time football recruiting, Jackson can't stifle a laugh.

"Oh, wow! It was like a vacation!"

The obvious question: Does she ever miss the recruiting trail?

"Heck no. I don't mind doing it but it is a hectic job. You're jumping on planes, you're in homes, you're in gyms, you're talking with counselors, you're trying to catch people at home.

"When I'm on the road, my hand has a phone in it all the time. You're always trying to make sure the kid is there, the parents are there, the counselor is there. You only have 24 hours to see everybody you need to see. It's fast-paced and constant.

"And, when you're looking for the best and brightest, you're traveling great distances to do this. Tennessee is not like a Florida or a Texas, where they have such a great student-athlete base."

To say that Judy Jackson is an integral part of the University of Tennessee football program is no exaggeration. Her official title is associate director of student-athlete welfare, but her duties go way beyond that. She's a hostess to visiting prospects. She's a motivator to some athletes, a confidant to others and a mother figure to many. And, of course, she's a part-time coach and recruiter.

"My office is in the football complex; I am legitimately a football staffer," she says. "I'm also in athletic administration, working with other teams in terms of recruitment and retention. I don't coach but I help the student-athlete with his transition from high school to college … help him through the maze."

Jackson has been through that maze herself. Born in Chicago, she married a Knoxville man and moved south, ultimately graduating from UT.

"I won't tell you what year," she says, "because I'm a mature female."

Jackson eventually returned to her alma mater as an academic advisor In the college of education. Even after 29 years, she still relishes the challenge of molding young people into solid citizens.

"This is the life," she says. "It's a good life. It's beyond words. It's a pleasure to do this job. I am blessed with the greatest staff you could ever be a part of. And I'm blessed with a coach who is a friend that I greatly respect."

That coach obviously has great respect for Judy Jackson, as well. A few years ago Fulmer gave her an unprecedented honor.

"The coach made me an honorary letterman," she recalls, clearly moved by the gesture. "He's never even nominated anybody else for honorary letterman."

Many observers have grown increasingly critical of college football through the years. They believe today's athlete is selfish and opportunistic, content to be coddled and exploited by a school eager to profit from his skills. Judy Jackson is annoyed by such cynicism. She says today's athlete essentially is the same as he was 30 years ago. Only the perception of him has changed.

"It takes a special kind of person – let alone a 17-year-old kid – to be a student-athlete … to deal with the publicity and the criticism," she says. "The difference now is 24 hours a day of sports talk, 24 hours of ESPN, 24 hours of people trying to find out something negative. Now if you stub your toe, it's on the Associated Press. The magnifying glass has gotten thicker and thicker."

Several Tennessee athletes have come under that magnifying glass in recent years, yet Jackson insists the Vols – by and large – are a wonderful group of young men.

"I'm really happy for the players," she says. "They're going to be able to contribute to their families and to their communities. This is the cream of the crop right here."

Using that analogy, Judy Jackson's job involves nurturing the crop so the university can reap the benefits on the football field and in the classroom. Obviously, that's a very significant job.

"I always considered myself an important part of the process," Jackson says. "Still do."

How much longer she remains a part of the process remains to be seen.

"I know I need to start thinking about retiring," she says. "But it's just a pleasure for me to be here. And that's from the heart."

Being an exceptionally bright woman, Judy Jackson will recognize when the time to retire arrives. Until then, she'll continue to work behind the scenes, quietly playing an invaluable role in the hectic world of Big Orange football.

It's never boring," she says. "It's never unexciting. It's like a roller-coaster ride."

University of Tennessee Athletics

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