Edward L. Jackson (American football)

Penn State 2 MAAA (1934–1935) Edward L. Jackson ( – January 19, 1984) was an American college football and college basketball coach and administrator for several historically black colleges and universities in the Eastern United States. He served as the head football coach at Delaware State University, Johnson C. Smith University and Howard University, altering his tenures among the three schools over the course of 23 years. Jackson also coached basketball at Johnson C. Smith and Delaware State.

Jackson was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he attended Springfield Central High School. He then studied at Bay Path Institute—now known as Bay Path University—and Howard University. In 1928, he transferred to Springfield College in his hometown. Jackson received Bachelor of Science and Master of Education degrees from Springfield. He earned a doctorate from the School of Physical Education at Pennsylvania State University in 1955. Jackson went to the Tuskegee Institute in 1956, serving as physical education director until 1968 and then as vice president of academic affairs. In 1970, he was recognized by the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation with a Presidential Citation.

Jackson was assistant dean of the graduate school at Howard from 1974 until his retirement in 1981. He died on January 19, 1984, at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.