Tia Jackson
Associate Head Coach
Tia Jackson is a highly seasoned coaching professional who rejoined Duke University’s women’s basketball program in July 2020 and was promoted to Associate Head Coach on July 1, 2022. In her current stint at Duke, she has contributed significantly to the Blue Devils’ resurgence—helping guide the team to a 97-41 record, an ACC Tournament title in 2025, and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances including a run to the Elite Eight in 2025. One of her key strengths is player development: under her guidance, freshman Toby Fournier earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 2025, and several players under her watch have garnered All-ACC and All-Defensive recognition.
Jackson brings nearly three decades of experience to Durham. She began her coaching career soon after graduating from the University of Iowa (where she helped the Hawkeyes reach the NCAA Final Four in 1993) and has held roles as assistant coach at VCU, Stanford, UCLA and Rutgers. She also served as head coach at the University of Washington from 2007-11 and as an assistant at the University of Miami from 2015-20. Her experience includes recruiting top-ranked classes, building strong defensive systems and mentoring players who reached the professional level. In her earlier stint at Duke (2005-07), Jackson supported a team that compiled 63 victories and reached the national championship game in 2006, making her return to the program a full-circle moment.