After Saturday’s Battle of the Timberlands against Southern Arkansas University, Hud Jackson will cease to be a football coach for the first time in 34 years.
“Ever since I was born, I’ve been on a field — 57 years in a row in the fall,” the longtime University of Arkansas at Monticello coach said Thursday. “That’s life-changing. That is something that is just crazy to think about.”
The week in preparation for the trophy game in Magnolia has been “very emotional” for Jackson, looking to end a 15-year run leading the Boll Weevils with just his third win over the Muleriders (2018, 2021). This has been the only collegiate head coaching role for the Louisiana native who grew up a coach’s son.
Jackson announced Sunday he would step down but remain as UAM’s athletic director. He’s been the only active head coach to hold that title in the Great American Conference.
“The amount of people who have reached out has been overwhelming,” Jackson said Thursday. “As a coach, as a person, you want to have impact on people in your life. I think everybody has a purpose in life, and everybody’s going to impact somebody in their life. I’ve just been overwhelmed with that.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
UAM is 2-8 overall and in the Great American following a 40-7 loss at Northwestern Oklahoma State, the Weevils’ fifth in a row. Jackson, who is 50-103 at UAM, said the thought of stepping down may have turned real after the chances of a winning season evaporated.
“It’s sort of hard to say,” he said. “When we got done with the game Saturday, to be honest with you, I got on the phone with all my kids who are all grown up. I Facetimed them and I said, ‘Guys, I think it’s time to look at where I am in my career.’ Obviously, when you do those situations, you think about all the great experiences I’ve had as a coach. It also comes as I thought about this university, too, and what this university needs. For me, UAM’s football program deserves to win and win consistently.”
And then there’s his wife of more than 35 years, Patricia.
“She is the most remarkable being to be able to fall in love with a place because I fell in love with a place,” Jackson said. “Now, she’s in a very happy part of her life. Our kids are all grown. They have kids now. We bought a new house over the summer. She is 100 percent responsible for making me the man I am on all levels.”
Jackson has been athletic director since July 2021 on an interim basis and since March 2022 full-time, and he’ll continue to lead the school’s charge in updating facilities. While details for an overhaul of Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium have yet to be announced, UAM is currently upgrading 66-year-old Steelman Fieldhouse, home to its basketball and volleyball teams.
“This place is a whole lot better than when I took over,” Jackson said. “The next person that comes in is going to have a situation where they get to worry about coaching, getting good players in here. It’s going to be a really good job, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that person is successful.”
More emotions may have settled in during practice Thursday — the last time Jackson plans to rehearse on his own field. As a matter of tradition, Jackson hosted a dinner with his senior players that evening.
Tradition has been a big thing with Jackson. Just this season, a 5-foot bronze Weevil just outside the Judy and Jack Lassiter Indoor Practice Facility and a smaller bronze Weevil atop a concrete pedestal honoring every senior class under Jackson were unveiled thanks to a donation from the family of Wayne Owen.
“Things just weren’t in place here for a period of time here,” Jackson said. “I think it’s in a good place. Obviously, we want more wins and I really believe those will come, but there’s a lot to be proud of. There is.”
A committee has been formed to identify UAM’s 26th head coach, but Jackson declined to name its members. The vacancy will likely be posted on the university’s website by Monday, he added, although he’s already received a number of resumes.
Jackson has the second-most victories in UAM history, trailing only Tommy Barnes (69-53-1 from 1985-96).
“Just because a new guy comes in and has success is not going to keep me from being happy because I know the work we put in to set the stage for that,” Jackson said. “And I can find a lot pride in that as well.”
START OF BASKETBALL SEASON
UAM’s men’s basketball team will tip off Friday at the Central Region Challenge in Tahlequah, Okla.
UAM will face host Northeastern State at 7 p.m., then face Central Oklahoma at 2 p.m. Saturday. The first home game for the Weevils is at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday against Hendrix College for its annual Billie Ball Game, when UAM hosts elementary students from the Monticello School District.
The UAM women’s team will tip off Friday in the MIAA/GAC Crossover at UA-Fort Smith. The Blossoms will take on the host Lions at 5:30 p.m., then meet Kansas’ Newman University at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Blossoms’ first home game is at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday against Arkansas Baptist College.