Grambling State University Grambling State University ( GSU ) is a historically black , public , coeducation al university , located in Grambling , Louisiana , United States . The university is the home of late head football coach Eddie Robinson , and is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail . The University is a member - school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund . Academics . College of Arts & Sciences . Degrees No Longer Offered : Bachelor of Science in Automotive Technology , Building Construction Technology , Institutional Food Production , Liberal Arts , Linguistics and Mechanical Technology College of Business . Degrees No Longer Offered : Associate of Science in Accounting / Bookkeeping , General Clerical , Computer Information Systems and Office Administration ; Bachelor of Science in Business Education and Office Administration College of Education . Degrees No Longer Offered : Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Science Education and Industrial Education College of Graduate Studies . Degrees No Longer Offered : Master of Business Administration and Master of International Business and Trade History . Grambling State was founded in 1901 and accredited in 1949 . The school became Grambling College in 1946 named after a white sawmill owner , P . G . Grambling , who donated a parcel of land for the school to be constructed . With the addition of graduate departments , Grambling gained university status in 1974 . Grambling State University emerged from the desire of African - American farmers in rural north Louisiana who wanted to educate other African Americans in the northern part of the state . In 1896 , the North Louisiana Colored Agriculture Relief Association was formed to organize and operate a school . After opening a small school west of what is now the town of Grambling , the Association requested assistance from Booker T . Washington of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama . Charles P . Adams , sent to aid the group in organizing an industrial school , became its founder and first president . Under Adams ’ leadership , the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School opened on November 1 , 1901 . Four years later , the school moved to its present location and was renamed the North Louisiana Agricultural and Industrial School . By 1928 , the school was able to offer two - year professional certificates and diplomas after becoming a state junior college . The school was renamed Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute . In 1936 , the program was reorganized to emphasize rural education . It became known as " The Louisiana Plan " or " A Venture in Rural Teacher Education . " Professional teaching certificates were awarded when a third year was added in 1936 , and the first baccalaureate degree was awarded in 1944 in elementary education . The institution ’ s name was changed to Grambling College in 1946 in honor of a white sawmill owner , P . G . Grambling , who donated a parcel of land for the school . Thereafter , the college prepared secondary teachers and added curricula in sciences , liberal arts and business . With these programs in effect , the school was transformed from a single purpose institution of teacher education into a multipurpose college . In 1949 , the college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools ( SACS ) . The Grambling science building is one of twenty - six public structures in Louisiana constructed by the contractor George A . Caldwell . In 1974 , the addition of graduate programs in early childhood and elementary education gave the school a new status and a new name – Grambling State University . From 1977 to 2000 , the university grew and prospered . Several new academic programs were incorporated and new facilities were added to the campus , including a business and computer science building , school of nursing , student services building , stadium , stadium support facility and an intramural sports center . In 2006 , Grambling State was the setting for the Black Entertainment Television network docudrama " Season of the Tiger , " which chronicled the daily lives of members of the football team and marching band throughout the 2005 season . State Representative George B . Holstead of Ruston , whose grandfather had been instrumental in the founding of Louisiana Tech , worked to increase state appropriations for both Louisiana Tech and Grambling State University during his legislative tenure from 1964 - 1980 . In 2010 , a state audit showed that GSU lost money on an illegal stock purchase and was in violation of two state laws . State Representative Francis C . Thompson , a Delhi Democrat , urged the state to conduct financial oversight at Grambling and at other institutions in view of the audit . The audit claims that GSU illegally invested $ 2 . 6 million in the stock market with money that had been reserved for university facilities . Thompson said that the state should " develop a safety net if something can fall through the cracks like this . " University presidents . Following the first university president Charles P . Adams , Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones became the second president and the highly successful baseball coach from 1936 until his retirement in 1977 . Five presidents served from 1977 to 2001 : Dr . Joseph Benjamin Johnson , Dr . Harold W . Lundy , Dr . Raymond Hicks , Dr . Leonard Haynes III and Dr . Steve A . Favors . The advent of a new millennium and the beginning of a second century of service ushered in Grambling State University ’ s first female president , Dr . Neari Francois Warner . Warner served a three - year interim term . Dr . Horace Judson , who became the institution ’ s seventh president in 2004 , led the most ambitious 5 - year campaign to rebuild the institution ' s facilities . On Wednesday , October 21 , 2009 , Judson announced his resignation effective October 31 , 2009 . The current president is Frank Pogue . Student activities . Athletics . The Grambling Tigers represent Grambling State University in NCAA intercollegiate athletics . Grambling ' s sports teams participate in NCAA Division I ( Football Championship Subdivision for football ) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference ( SWAC ) . Currently , the Grambling State University Department of Athletics sponsors Men ' s Intercollegiate football , along with men ' s and women ' s basketball , baseball , track & field , softball , golf , soccer , tennis , bowling and volleyball . Notable alumni . Alumni of Grambling State include numerous MLB , NBA and NFL players , public officials , journalists , businessmen and artists . Willie Brown , Green Bay Packers : NFL Hall of Fame Eight - time Mr . Olympia winner Ronnie Coleman is a noted alumnus , as is alumna actress Natalie Desselle - Reid . Grammy - winner Erykah Badu attended Grambling State University and once served as a campus Queen , although she began concentrating on music full - time and dropped out before graduating . " New York Times " columnist Charles M . Blow is also an alumnus . Alumna Pinkie C . Wilkerson , served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1992 until her death in an automobile accident on August 1 , 2000 . Former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams , is not only an alumnus , but currently serves as the Tigers head football coach . West coast bay area rap artist E - 40 also attended Grambling State University . Alumnus Ahmad Terry , former Rocky Mountain News Staff photographer and Pulitzer Prize winner 2000 and 2003 . * Pulitzer Prize Grambling State University graduate , Stephanie Finleyhad , was nominated as U . S . Attorney for Louisiana ' s Western District by President Barack Obama . Award winning and world renowned jazz artist Michael Thomas is a Grambling alumnus and was a member of the Tiger Marching Band along with jazz artists Lovett Hines and Bob French . The writer Judi - Ann Mason was a double major graduate of Grambling . She began her writing career at GSU by winning two major playwrighting awards through the American College Theatre Festival . As a sophomore , her first full - length play , " Livin ' Fat " won the Norman Lear award . In her senior year , her script " A Star Aint Nothin But a Hole in Heaven " won the first Lorraine Hansberry Award . As part of the prize , she worked for several years with the Lear organization writing for the TV sitcom , " Good Times . " She later was named the head writer for the black soap opera " Generations , " and went on to write the screenplay for the film , " Sister Act II " . Mason died in 2009 at the age of 54 . In the classic , 1975 black film " Cooley High " , main character Richard " Cochise " Morris ( played by actor Lawrence Hilton - Jacobs ) , is tragically murdered after being notified that he ' d been awarded a basketball scholarship to Grambling . N . Burl Cain , warden of Louisiana State Penitentiary , has a master ' s degree in criminal justice from Grambling .