Back on the job
Coach with more than 500 wins back after more than 30 years
Coach with more than 500 wins is returning to Siena College.
Jim Jabir will have a nicer office this time. He’ll also be making a lot more money.
Thirty-one years after departing Siena, Jabir is returning for a second stint as the Saints women’s basketball coach.
Siena named Jabir as its coach (again) on Wednesday afternoon. Jabir led the Saints from 1987 to 1990, compiling a 50-29 record before leaving for Marquette. He has a career record of 514-446 over 33 seasons at six schools, including an NCAA Elite Eight appearance with Dayton at Times Union Center in 2015.
He spent the past four seasons at Florida Atlantic.
Jabir, 58, replaces Ali Jaques, whom the Saints chose not to bring back after nine seasons. Jaques worked under Jabir at Dayton during the 2005-06 season, and he recommended her for the Siena job in 2012.
He’ll be formally re-introduced at a campus news conference on Friday.
“I would like to thank (Siena president) Dr. (Chris) Gibson and (athletic director) John D’argenio for the opportunity to come home and do what I love,” Jabir said in a news release. “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.”
In his first stretch at Siena, Jabir made about $14,000 per year and his desk was in the school’s ticket office. Though his new salary isn’t available, Jaques made a base salary of about $140,000.
He had his greatest success at Dayton, going 252-155 over 13 seasons before stepping down following the 2015-16 season. He said he was “physically and emotionally exhausted” and that he needed to take care of his family and personal health. Before his second season at Dayton, he was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia and had a defibrillator implanted.
He took a year off after leaving Dayton before taking the Florida Atlantic job. He went 42-68 with the Owls, including 11-11 this season.
“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,” Gibson said in the news release. “Jim has a proven track record of building championshipcaliber 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.”
He has coached against Siena twice in recent years. Florida Atlantic beat the Saints 70-66 at Times Union Center in 2018 and Dayton routed Siena 91-53 at UHY Center in 2012.
Jabir, a Brooklyn native, has also coached at Buffalo State and Providence.
He is a graduate of Nazareth College in Rochester.
D’argenio, Siena’s athletic director, was the school’s sports information director during Jabir’s first tenure with the Saints.
“Siena and our women’s basketball team are fortunate to be able to have Jim return and lead our program,” D’argenio said. “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.”
Siena also spoke with Xavier assistant and Siena alumna Mary Grimes and Colgate head coach Bill Cleary, among others, about the head-coaching opening.