Dressed in gray shorts and a gray quarter-zip and standing well above 6 feet, Rob Ford II looks like a basketball or football coach just out for a casual round of golf at the Refuge.
That is until he swings a golf club.
Ford, a former member of Jackson State’s golf team, is now the men’s and women’s golf coach. He’s been tasked with reviving one of JSU’s most successful athletic programs.
The golf teams were suspended in 2017 due to the university’s budget reduction. The suspension was only supposed to last for two years. Eight years later, the program’s return was announced on Feb. 6. Now, the start of the 2025 season is around the corner, with the men competing at the Bridgestone HBCU Invitational starting Sept. 3 in Duluth, Georgia.
“The history that Jackson State has as far as the golf program and everything, is very important,” Ford told the Clarion Ledger on Aug. 28. “It’s very important for our kids to be able to get the exposure, to be able to get that experience, to be able to have access. Bringing it back at this time is very vital, and we’re happy that it’s back.”
Re-establishing JSU golf had been one of JSU vice president and director of athletics Ashley Robinson’s goals since his hire in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the process, but eventually, Robinson was able to see it through.
“I think golf is a community sport,” Robinson said. “I think you can get a lot of things done through a golf program. … It’s very important, the history that we have in golf and alumni base that we have in the golf program is very, very big. And bringing Coach Ford back, which is a former player, as well, that’s huge for the program.”
Jackson State’s golf history
JSU golf was once a premier program on both the men’s and the women’s side. Under 2022 Black College Golf Coaches Hall of Fame inductee Eddie Payton, who coached from 1986-2016, the men won 25 SWAC titles, including 23 in a row from 1989-2011. JSU was the first HBCU to appear in the NCAA tournament in 1995. The Lady Tigers accomplished the same feat in 1999 and have 14 SWAC championships.
Ford, who graduated from JSU in 2013, is very familiar with the program’s history. Still, he says the weight of living up to the standard the program once held has been largely non-existent.
“I haven’t felt it,” Ford said. “And our admin has done a great job to kind of let me know, ‘Hey, there’s no pressure on you. You don’t have any shoes that you need to fill. You just go out there and be you and do the best that you can do.’”
Instead, he says he’s received tons of support from Robinson, the school and other JSU athletic programs.
Once Ford was named coach, recruiting became a priority. He tracked down athletes from places as far as Canada and Argentina to build his rosters.
“I think recruiting has always been a kind of a tough thing. We’re talking about HBCU golf,” Ford said. “But at the end of the day, you’re going to find those kids that just want to play, that just want to get out there and do the best that they can.”
Robinson is extremely confident in what the program’s immediate outlook is.
“I think we’re one year away,” Robinson said. “Rob has done a really, really good job of recruiting. And don’t be surprised if it happens this year.”
Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on X @tiareid65.
Read the full article here