Jackie Carson joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in July 2023 and serves as Senior Vice President of Women’s Basketball. A nationally respected leader, former Division I head coach and accomplished student-athlete, Carson is a member of the ACC Leadership Team and provides strategic direction for all facets of the conference’s women’s basketball enterprise.
Since Carson’s arrival, ACC women’s basketball has continued its remarkable ascent on the national stage. Over her first three years with the conference, the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament has generated record revenue, while television viewership and national programming windows have reached record levels. In 2026, the ACC placed a conference-record nine teams in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Carson leads the planning, implementation and execution of the ACC’s comprehensive women’s basketball operation. She serves as the primary liaison to the league’s head coaches and committee members; oversees the women’s basketball supervisor of officials; and manages regular-season conference scheduling and the annual Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. Her portfolio also includes engagement with the ACC’s television partners and national basketball organizations, including the NCAA, Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and Play4Kay.
Carson brings extensive national leadership and administrative experience to the ACC. She served as one of only two coaches on the NCAA Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee and as a member of the WBCA Board of Directors. She is also an Executive Committee member and current President of the Women of Color Coaches Network, an organization of current and former Division I Black female head coaches and administrators from across the country.
Before joining the ACC, Carson spent 13 years as the head women’s basketball coach at Furman University, following five seasons as associate head coach at James Madison. Earlier in her career, she coached for two seasons at Bucknell University and spent one season with the Fairfax Stars Nike EYBL AAU program, which won the 2002 AAU National Championship.
A standout student-athlete at Furman, Carson earned her Bachelor of Science in Health and Exercise Science/Pre-Medicine. She is the first person in Southern Conference basketball history—men’s or women’s—to earn both conference Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors. Carson was named to the SoCon 100th Anniversary Women’s Basketball Team and was inducted into the Southern Conference Hall of Fame in March 2026. In January 2025, she became only the second recipient of Furman University’s Idella Glenn Distinguished Black Alumni Award. She is also a member of the C.D. Hylton High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Furman University Hall of Fame; Furman retired her jersey in 2009.
Carson and her husband, Rob—a former college athlete and administrator of more than 20 years and current BSN Sports employee—reside in Belmont, North Carolina, with their daughters, Londyn and Lathyn.