Jim Jabir enters his sixth overall season at the helm of the Siena Saints in 2023-24 and his third year leading the Green & Gold during his second stint. A finalist for the 2013 Naismith National Coach of the Year Award, the Brooklyn, New York native has led his programs to eight NCAA Tournament berths highlighted by a 2015 Elite Eight appearance, while amassing 543 wins.
The 61-year-old Jabir has achieved a 543-478 (.532) overall record over 35 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including 34 at the Division I level. Currently standing 26th amongst all active DI head coaches in wins, he previously led the Siena Women’s Basketball program for three seasons (1987-90), while also having served as the head coach at Florida Atlantic University (2017-21), University of Dayton (2003-16), Providence College (1996-02), Marquette University (1990-96), and Division III Buffalo State College (1986-87).
Before his first season back in 2021-22, Jabir said, “I would like to thank Dr. Gibson and John D’Argenio for the opportunity to come home and do what I love. Siena is a special place for me, and our goal from day one is to win championships and represent Siena in a first class manner. This is not my program. This program belongs to our students and all the fans who have supported the Saints for so long, and we will continue to represent you all well. We will build a family that you will be proud of. We will need you all at our games to help us achieve this lofty goal.”
After guiding the Saints to their first MAAC Opening Round bye in five seasons during his first campaign back with the team in 2021-22, Jabir led one of the youngest teams in the nation in 2022-23 to a fourth place regular season finish and both the program's first winning record and MAAC Semifinal appearance since 2018. Siena boasted an 11-5 home record and a nine-win improvement while garnering five MAAC postseason honors - including Elisa Mevius winning MAAC Rookie of the Year honors. The team led the league in scoring offense and saw Mevius and classmate Teresa Seppala claim a combined 12 MAAC weekly honors - including Mevius becoming the first player in conference history to take home Player and Rookie of the Week honors on the same day. Siena ended the year with three players in double-figure scoring, six averaging seven points per-game or greater, and eight averaging more than 20 minutes per-game.
“We are delighted to welcome Coach Jabir back to Siena College, and couldn’t be more excited to have someone with his tremendous coaching pedigree and acumen leading our women’s basketball program,” said Siena College President Christopher P. Gibson ’86, Ph.D. “Jim has a proven track record of building championship caliber programs in a way that strongly aligns with our Franciscan values, and we can’t wait to see him lead our Saints to new heights.”
Jabir returned to the Capital Region following a four-year stint at Florida Atlantic where he took the Owls to unprecedented success in Conference USA. This past season, Jabir piloted FAU to an 11-11 overall record including an 8-8 mark in C-USA. The Owls capped the season by securing the program’s first-ever C-USA Tournament win, which marked Jabir’s milestone 500
th Division I head coaching victory. During his first season at the helm in 2017-18, he guided FAU to a nine-win improvement which marked the fourth best turnaround nationally.
“Siena and our women’s basketball team are fortunate to be able to have Jim return and lead our program,” said Siena College Vice President and Director of Athletics John D’Argenio. “His record of basketball achievements is evident. His ability to engage the student athletes he leads, understand them as young women, and build a program that supports them as people has been the foundation upon which his on-the-court success has been built.”
Jabir arrived in Boca Raton after a transformative 13-year run at Dayton, where he departed as the winningest coach in program history at 252-155 (.619). He built the Flyers from a 3-25 team in his first season, to a program which achieved a peak national ranking of No. 11 in both the Associated Press and
USA Today Coaches polls in 2013. A two-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (2008, 2013), Jabir led UD to six straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2010-15, in addition to three WNIT berths (2008, 2009, 2016).
Jabir guided Dayton to eight straight 20-win seasons while compiling a stellar 194-68 (.740) record from 2007-15. The Flyers captured the program’s first A-10 Tournament Championship in 2012, and their initial two A-10 Regular Season Championships in both 2013 and 2014 under his leadership.
Jabir mentored the sixth youngest team in the country to a program Division I best 28-3 record in 2013, which culminated with Dayton’s second trip to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in four seasons. The historic 2014-15 UD squad also won 28 games, highlighted by NCAA Tournament victories over Iowa State, No. 11 Kentucky, and No. 8 Louisville to advance to the Regional Final in nearby Albany at the Times Union Center in Jabir’s triumphant return to the Capital Region. The Flyers finished the 2014-15 season ranked 17
th nationally in the
USA Today Coaches’ Poll.
Player recruitment and development was key for Jabir at Dayton, where he signed a pair of top-20 recruiting classes (13
th in 2015-16, 20
th in 2013-14). During his tenure in the Gem City, Jabir recruited 22 A-10 All-Conference and 11 All-Rookie Team selections, including four A-10 Rookies of the Year. He mentored and developed the first three WNBA Draft picks in program history in Saicha Grant-Allen (2017), Andrea Hoover (2015), and Ally Malott (2015). Moreover, Jabir’s program achieved unparalleled success in the classroom where they boasted a perfect 100% graduation rate for 11 consecutive seasons as well as 10 A-10 All-Academic Team selections.
Prior to his time at Dayton, Jabir served a pair of six-year stints at both Marquette (1990-96) and Providence (1996-02). He rebuilt Marquette into a program which secured its first three postseason tournament berths, earning a spot in the WNIT in 1993 before winning the Great Midwest Conference and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in both 1994 and 1995. A two-time Reebok/Great Midwest Coach of the Year, Jabir led the Golden Eagles to back-to-back 22-win seasons in 1992-93 and 1993-94. During his tenure at Providence, he recruited and coached a pair of BIG EAST All-Conference and All-Rookie Team selections.
Jabir broke into the Division I head coaching ranks when the late legendary Siena College Athletic Director and Men’s Basketball Coach Bill Kirsch ’56, HOF ’76 appointed the then 24-year-old to take over the reins of the women’s basketball program on Apr. 13, 1987. Jabir led Siena to a 50-29 (.633) record over three years (1987-90), including the program’s inaugural season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 1989-90. He recruited and coached Siena’s first three All-MAAC selections in Val Higgins ’91, HOF ’98, Michelle Collins ’92, and Peg Taylor ’92, as well as six 1,000-point scorers.
Jabir began his collegiate head coaching career at Division III Buffalo State, which he led to a SUNYAC Championship and NCAA Regional appearance during his lone season at helm in 1986-87. He previously served as an assistant coach the year prior with the Bengals, following one season as an assistant at his alma mater Nazareth College in 1984-85. Jabir has also previously served as an assistant coach at the Division I level, where he helped guide Colorado to a Sweet 16 appearance in his lone season with the Buffaloes in 2002-03.
A 1984 graduate of Nazareth with his degree in English, Jabir earned his Master’s in Student Personnel Administration from Buffalo State in 1986. The father of Lauren, Shane, and Jackson, Jabir and his wife, Angie - Siena's Senior Associate AD/SWA - are the proud parents of son Jude.
Year-by-Year With Coach Jabir
| YEAR |
SCHOOL |
OVERALL |
PCT |
CONFERENCE |
PCT |
HIGHLIGHTS |
| 1986-87 |
Buffalo State |
14-11 |
.560 |
SUNYAC |
--- |
SUNYAC Champions |
| TOTALS |
ONE SEASON |
14-11 |
.560 |
|
|
|
| 1987-88 |
Siena |
16-10 |
.615 |
N/A |
--- |
|
| 1988-89 |
Siena |
16-8 |
.667 |
N/A |
--- |
|
| 1989-90 |
Siena |
18-11 |
.621 |
5-5 (MAAC) |
.500 |
MAAC Tournament Semifinals |
| TOTALS |
THREE SEASONS |
50-29 |
.632 |
5-5 (MAAC) |
.500 |
|
| 1990-91 |
Marquette |
7-20 |
.259 |
3-13 (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) |
.188 |
|
| 1991-92 |
Marquette |
16-13 |
.552 |
7-3 (Great Midwest) |
.700 |
|
| 1992-93 |
Marquette |
22-9 |
.709 |
10-0 (Great Midwest) |
1.000 |
WNIT 4th Place |
| 1993-94 |
Marquette |
22-7 |
.759 |
9-1 (Great Midwest) |
.900 |
Great Midwest Regular Season Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 1994-95 |
Marquette |
19-12 |
.613 |
9-3 (Great Midwest) |
.750 |
Great Midwest Champions, NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 1995-96 |
Marquette |
8-20 |
.286 |
5-9 (C-USA) |
.357 |
|
| TOTALS |
SIX SEASONS |
94-81 |
.537 |
38-29 |
.567 |
|
| 1996-97 |
Providence |
13-14 |
.481 |
8-10 (BIG EAST) |
.444 |
|
| 1997-98 |
Providence |
10-17 |
.370 |
6-12 (BIG EAST) |
.333 |
|
| 1998-99 |
Providence |
5-22 |
.185 |
4-14 (BIG EAST) |
.222 |
|
| 1999-2000 |
Providence |
10-17 |
.370 |
5-11 (BIG EAST) |
.313 |
|
| 2000-01 |
Providence |
11-17 |
.393 |
4-12 (BIG EAST) |
.250 |
|
| 2001-02 |
Providence |
13-15 |
.464 |
7-9 (BIG EAST) |
.438 |
|
| TOTALS |
SIX SEASONS |
62-102 |
.378 |
34-68 (BIG EAST) |
.333 |
|
| 2003-04 |
Dayton |
3-25 |
.107 |
1-15 (A-10) |
.063 |
|
| 2004-05 |
Dayton |
12-16 |
.429 |
6-10 (A-10) |
.375 |
|
| 2005-06 |
Dayton |
17-12 |
.586 |
8-8 (A-10) |
.500 |
|
| 2006-07 |
Dayton |
12-19 |
.387 |
6-8 (A-10) |
.429 |
|
| 2007-08 |
Dayton |
25-9 |
.735 |
9-5 (A-10) |
.643 |
WNIT First Round |
| 2008-09 |
Dayton |
21-14 |
.600 |
7-6 (A-10) |
.538 |
WNIT Second Round |
| 2009-10 |
Dayton |
25-8 |
.758 |
11-3 (A-10) |
.786 |
NCAA Tournament Second Round |
| 2010-11 |
Dayton |
21-12 |
.636 |
12-6 (A-10) |
.667 |
A-10 Championship Game/NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2011-12 |
Dayton |
23-7 |
.767 |
15-2 (A-10) |
.882 |
A-10 Tournament Champions/NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2012-13 |
Dayton |
28-3 |
.903 |
14-0 (A-10) |
1.000 |
A-10 Regular Season Champions/NCAA Tournament Second Round |
| 2013-14 |
Dayton |
23-8 |
.742 |
14-2 (A-10) |
.875 |
A-10 Regular Season Champions/NCAA Tournament First Round |
| 2014-15 |
Dayton |
28-7 |
.800 |
14-2 (A-10) |
.875 |
A-10 Championship Game/NCAA Tournament Elite Eight |
| 2015-16 |
Dayton |
14-15 |
.483 |
7-9 (A-10) |
.438 |
WNIT First Round |
| TOTALS |
13 SEASONS |
252-155 |
.619 |
124-76 (A-10) |
.620 |
|
| 2017-18 |
Florida Atlantic |
13-15 |
.464 |
7-9 (C-USA) |
.438 |
Nine-win improvement (fourth best turnaround nationally) |
| 2018-19 |
Florida Atlantic |
5-25 |
.167 |
2-14 (C-USA) |
.125 |
|
| 2019-20 |
Florida Atlantic |
13-17 |
.433 |
7-11 (C-USA) |
.389 |
|
| 2020-21 |
Florida Atlantic |
11-11 |
.500 |
8-8 (C-USA) |
.500 |
Led FAU to first-ever C-USA Tournament victory |
| TOTALS |
FOUR SEASONS |
42-68 |
.381 |
24-42 (C-USA) |
.363 |
|
| 2021-22 |
Siena |
10-19 |
.345 |
10-10 (MAAC) |
.500 |
Led Siena to first MAAC Tournament Opening Round bye in five seasons |
| 2022-23 |
Siena |
19-13 |
.594 |
12-8 (MAAC) |
.600 |
Program's first winning season since 2017-18 and first MAAC Semifinal appearance since 2018; Elisa Mevius named MAAC Rookie of the Year |
| CURRENT TOTALS |
TWO SEASONS |
29-32 |
.475 |
22-18 (MAAC) |
.550 |
|
| SIENA TOTALS |
FIVE SEASONS |
79-61 |
.564 |
27-23 (MAAC) |
.540 |
|
| OVERALL TOTAL |
35 SEASONS |
543-478 |
.532 |
|
|
|
| DI TOTAL |
34 SEASONS |
529-467 |
.531 |
|
|
|
