While Deion Sanders is leading Jackson State’s football program to new heights, it has not stopped other Power 5 football programs from going after the services of the NFL Hall of Famer.
However, on Tuesday, Jackson city council leaders unanimously approved a resolution to support the construction of a new football stadium for the program, hoping to aid in keeping Sanders with the program and in Jackson, Mississippi for a long time.
Kenneth Stokes, a councilman, believes the Tigers’ coach has brought a lot of positivity and “success” to the program and the city since his arrival in September 2020.
“It’s just the perfect time, if we’re going to get a new stadium, to start talking… and let’s try to make it a reality,” Stokes told WLBT-TV in Jackson. “We’re all hoping that Coach Prime stays in the city for a long period of time. … Maybe if we can show, as a state, that we are committed to him staying, and to the new stadium, maybe it would help encourage him to stay.”
The council’s approved resolution comes after Sanders has been previously linked to other Power 5 programs such as Georgia Tech and Auburn this season and Colorado State and TCU in the 2021 campaign. Sanders, who has recorded a 20–5 record during his time at JSU that includes a SWAC title and a Celebration Bowl appearance, has the Tigers sitting at 5–0 this season coming off a heated victory against Alabama State on Saturday.
As Sanders continues to win, Stokes believes JSU’s coach is a true “blessing” to the city and has inspired an uplifting atmosphere within the program.
“The atmosphere for football has not been this high in a long, long, long time,” Stokes said. “He’s a good coach. He’s good for the community. He’s good for the SWAC.”
Prior to Sanders’s arrival in 2020, the Tigers had not posted a winning season since ’13.
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