Legendary Area Head Coach Ben Jones Passes Away

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) — One of the greatest coaches in the history of sports in the Magnolia State has passed away.

Ben Jones, the long-time football and basketball coach around Mississippi, passed away on Friday. He was 87 years old.

Jones was inducted into the National High School Athletics Coaches Association Hall of Fame on June 20th of this year. He coached basketball and football for 32 years in Mississippi.

Jones got his start in coaching back in 1952 when he took over the Hatley basketball program for one season.

He’s well known for coaching at Itawamba AHS and fielding the first integrated high school football team in Mississippi in 1967. Eight years later, he led the ICC Indians to their only undefeated football season in school history.

Following his time coaching in Fulton at both the high school and at Itawamba Community College, Jones finished his 32-year coaching career at New Albany, where he led the Bulldogs to one of their best seasons in history in 1982 as NA played for the Class A State Championship.

Jones is forever known as one of the greatest coaches in the history of Mississippi athletics as he won at every stop he made in his career including Gulfport, Tupelo and Meridian. He finished his football coaching career with a 152-48-8 overall record.