In the late 1950s, James Jackson provided a spark of energy to the Panther men's basketball team as one of the program's top rebounders. 27 years after his playing career ended, he made history for the Purple and Gold as the first African-American to be inducted into the UNI Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.
Jackson was born in northeast Iowa in 1939, attending UNI (then known as the Iowa State Teachers College) from 1958 to 1961. A native of Waterloo and graduate of East High School, Jackson joined the ISTC basketball program as a sophomore, quickly becoming one of the team's most effective players on the court.