Report from NWAC and Whatcom Community College
Whatcom Community College Athletics announced in June that the Orcas have hired Jerome Jenkins as the new head men’s basketball coach. Jenkins begins his duties with the Orcas immediately.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jerome to the Orca family,” said Whatcom Director for Athletics and Recreation Danny Day. “Jerome’s love for the game of basketball and overall passion for the entire student-athlete experience was clear throughout the interview process, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for Orca men’s basketball.”
Jenkins, who has coached for more than 28 years, comes to Whatcom having been a head coach at both the community college level and the NCAA Division I level. While getting his start in collegiate coaching in the early-1990s as the Associate Head Coach at Diablo Valley College, he then transitioned into a role at NCAA DI Eastern Washington University in 1997 and spent a couple of years there as an assistant coach.
In 1999, Jenkins took on the role as assistant coach at NCAA DI Sacramento State University before then being named the head coach at Sacramento State a year later. From 2000-2008, Jenkins served as the head coach at Sacramento State, overseeing all basketball operations for the school while turning around the program and helping see the squad make the Big Sky Conference Tournament four straight years.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Regis University-Denver, and his Masters in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University Irvine in 2016.
“I am looking forward to moving this program in the direction of winning in all aspects (basketball, classroom, and community),” Jenkins said. “I look forward to the journey of making Whatcom Community College a very proud basketball program.”
