Former Player of the Year Jackson to Receive John Conti Award

DETROIT -- The University of Detroit Mercy Department of Athletics has announced that former Titan standout and professional basketball player Jermaine Jackson will receive this year’s prestigious John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award.

Jackson will officially receive the honor on Sunday, Feb. 8, during the men’s basketball game against UIC. The game will tip at 2:00 p.m. ET in historic Calihan Hall.

A 2010 Detroit Titan Hall of Fame inductee and two-time All-Horizon League standout, Jackson earned four letters at the University from 1995-99 and is 20th all-time in scoring with 1,341 career points. He is also fifth in school history with 509 assists and ninth tallying 142 steals.

He was named the Horizon League Player of the Year in 1999 after averaging 13.9 ppg., and leading the Titans to a 25-6 record and a HL Championship. In his senior season, the two-time All-League honoree netted a team-high 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds as he helped put Detroit in the national spotlight when the 12th-seeded Titans upset fifth-seeded UCLA, 56-53, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Just a year earlier, he was part of a Titan squad that ended a 19-year NCAA hiatus as the red, white and blue shocked the 10th seed and senior-laden St. John’s squad, 66-64.

Born and raised in Detroit, the product of Finney High School went on to play in the NBA for five seasons, appearing in 135 games with five teams (Detroit, Toronto, Atlanta, New York & Milwaukee) before taking his career overseas. He also played in the CBA and the USBL as well as in Italy, Greece, Spain, Mexico and Israel. He was also selected to the all-star game while competing in the Israeli Basketball League.

In 2012, he opened the Jermaine Jackson-Cairns Community Center in Mount Clemens. The center has afterschool tutoring, fitness classes and food assistance programs for those of all ages.

The John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award was established by Anheuser-Busch to honor its long-time employee upon his induction into the Titan Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. Conti was the captain of the 1949 Detroit football team that won the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. At 6-1 and 300 pounds, he was an Honorable Mention All-American and the biggest man in college football. His spirit and charitable enthusiasm have always seemed to be even larger.

In tribute to that spirit, the John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award is presented to former Titan varsity athletes who go above and beyond at work and in the community. Jackson is a reflection of those characteristics, much like the Award's first recipient, legendary Titans basketball coach Bob Calihan, and the honorees that have followed him.

(Release courtesy of Detroit sports information)