Former ASU Ram to be inducted into Women’s Basketball HOF

Women’s basketball has made tremendous strides over the last 25 years. From the creation of the WNBA, to participation at every level increasing, to the growing number of fans, the sport continues to soar to new heights.

Next weekend, female pioneers of the game will be honored for their contributions and the city of Albany will be represented.

Former Albany State University standout Charlene Jackson was one of the first members of the Women’s Professional Basketball League, (WBL), the first professional basketball league ever formed for women. She and other members of the league will be recognized as “Trailblazers of the Game” next Saturday during the 2018 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The event will be in Knoxville, Tenn. and the 2018 class includes legendary players Tina Thompson, Katie Smith and Chamique Holdsclaw as well as several coaches.

Jackson, a Madison, Ga. native, has seen the game change over the years as she attended Albany State in 1975-79 on a basketball scholarship, which was brand new for women at the time.

“Ms. Edith Daniels was the women’s basketball coach at ASU. The federal government had just brought about Title IX and they were opening up scholarship opportunities for female basketball players,” she said. “So she recruited me to come to Albany State and I came down with two of my teammates from high school. She said if I came down here to play she would give all three of us a scholarship, so I accepted that deal.”

During her tenure at ASU, the accolades piled up. The most rewarding, according to Jackson, was being selected as Athlete of the Year for all sports during her senior year.

“That, out of all the accomplishments I achieved in college was the most important one and the most rewarding one,” she said. “When I think of some of the guys that went on to play professional basketball and the football and track stars, we had a lot of wonderful athletes then and for them to choose me as athlete of the year was huge. I think coach Mike White was in that class and he went on to play for the Cincinnati Bengals…so to win out of all those fantastic athletes was a huge accomplishment in my opinion.”

Success has followed Jackson from the time she picked up a basketball. What started out as an activity she participated in to get out of doing evening chores turned into a chance to have her name permanently etched into the history books.

The WBL was formed in 1978. Jackson dominated during her rookie season in 1980 and was named league MVP. Unfortunately the league folded a year later. From there came the WNBA in 1996 and while Jackson had already transitioned into her coaching career, first at Westover High then at Dougherty, she said said seeing the how the WNBA and the game has grown is truly a sight to behold.

“It really has shown that people have bought into the sport,” she said. “People have become committed to helping women’s basketball become the type of sport that young girls can look up to and aspire to become a part of…if it weren’t for the vision and dedication, women’s basketball would stop at college.”