Jessie Banks is largely credited with bringing women’s athletics to Colorado State University Pueblo. Arriving at the college in 1966, she coached four sports including women’s basketball, volleyball, softball, and track and field, along with serving as the assistant athletic director.

In 1979, she was named RMAC Volleyball Coach of the year in only the second year volleyball was recognized as a national sport. Banks helped lead the team to back to back East Division Championships from 1979 to 1980.

Honors

Banks played professional basketball for the “All American Redheads” between 1954 through 1959. She was one of the many members of her team inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. On top of this honor, she was also inducted into the Lindsay High School Hall of Fame in Oklahoma, The Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports Hall of Fame, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, the Greater Pueblo Sports Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Colorado State University Pueblo Hall of Fame in 2008. 

Education

Banks earned an undergraduate degree from Central State (Oklahoma) in 1962, then furthered her education by earning her master’s at Adams State (Alamosa) in 1966.

Occupation

Along with serving as the coach of four sports teams and being an assistant athletic director, Banks was a professor at our university from 1966-1996.

An official statement from CSU Pueblo reads, “Jessie’s impact reached far beyond a single team or generation. She helped shape opportunities for student-athletes across our department, leaving a lasting legacy through her leadership, mentorship, and unwavering commitment to the Pack. An eight-time Hall of Fame inductee, Jessie’s accomplishments reflect a lifetime dedicated to excellence, equity, and the advancement of collegiate athletics.”