Johnson & Wales University Providence

Jamie Benton arrived at JWU (Providence) in 2004 and begins his 26th season at the helm of the men’s basketball program in 2025-26.

During Benton’s tenure, he has guided the Wildcats to three Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships (2010-11, 2015-16, 2017-18), three NCAA Tournament wins – including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2015-16 – and an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Championship (2013-14). Overall, the Wildcats have appeared in eight GNAC Quarterfinals and five GANC Semifinals. 

JWU made its first trip to the NCAA Tournament under Benton in 2011 as it knocked off St. Joseph’s (ME) on the road in the GNAC Championship before scoring an overtime win over Ramapo in Mahwah, New Jersey. The win marked the first NCAA Tournament win for any program at JWU.

Five years later, GNAC Hall of Famer Quarry Greenaway and Tom Garrick led the Wildcats to a 28-3 record and their second GNAC Championship with a win over Albertus Magnus at the Wildcat Center. Benton’s squad went on to defeat Trinity (CT) (75-73) and Fitchburg St. (86-74) before falling to Tufts. The Wildcats – who ripped off a 21-game win streak following a loss in the season-opener – appeared in the national polls for the first time in 2015-16, climbing to as high as No. 12. For his efforts, Benton was named GNAC Coach of the Year, National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Coach of the Year, and ECAC New England Region Coach of the Year.

The 2017-18 edition of the JWU men’s hoops program won 12 of 13 games after the turn of the calendar and advanced to the GNAC Championship, where it upended the Falcons to claim their third GNAC title in seven years. The Wildcats finished the season 19-10.

Under Benton’s tutelage, three student-athletes – Lamonte Thomas (2010-11 & 2011-12), Quarry Greenaway (2015-16), and Brian Hogan-Gary (2018-19) – have been named GNAC Player of the Year. Thomas was a D3hoops.com All-America selection as a junior and senior, and currently stands as the fourth-leading scoring in NCAA Division III history with 2,740 points. He was inducted into the GNAC Hall of Fame in 2019. Greenaway, meanwhile, entered both the GNAC and JWU Hall of Fame in 2023.

Benton spent four seasons as an assistant coach at JWU (2000-04) before assuming head coaching duties. In his final season as an assistant, the Wildcats won 21 games and captured their first GNAC Championship with a win over Southern Vermont in 2003-04.

A four-year member of the men’s basketball program at Boston College, Benton helped the Eagles win 62 games during that span. His time in Chestnut Hill was highlighted by a run to the Sweet 16 as a freshman in 1984-85 and an appearance at Madison Square Garden in the NIT as a senior in 1987-88. Benton graduated as the program’s all-time leader in free throw pct. (84.6 pct.) and averaged 7.8 ppg for his career. As a senior, led the Eagles in three-point percentage at 48.7 pct. (56-of-115) en route to averaging a career-high 12.4 ppg.

Benton – who played his high school ball at nearby LaSalle Academy – was inducted into the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Hall of Fame in 2013.