04/14/2026
Pueblo Pioneer and GPSA Inductee Jessie Banks Passes Away
Jessie Banks
Jessie Banks, recognized as the most influential figure in the development of women’s athletics at Colorado State University Pueblo (initially known as Southern Colorado State College and the University of Southern Colorado), passed away on Friday, February 20. She was 90 years old.
Born August 20, 1935, in Lindsay, Oklahoma, Banks earned an undergraduate degree from Central Oklahoma in Edmond and her master’s degree from Adams State in 1966. She coached at USC through the 1985 season and retired as a physical education professor in 1996.
CSU Pueblo’s annual women’s athlete of the year award is named after Banks, and the school presents an endowed scholarship in her name annually.
Banks was a professional basketball player for the All-American Redheads between 1954 and 1959, and she was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., as an enshrined member of the team in 2012. She and her Redheads have been enshrined in HOFs in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. In addition to her induction into the CSU Pueblo HOF, Banks has been enshrined in the Lindsay (Okla.) High School, the University of Central Oklahoma, Colorado Coaches of Girls’ Sports, the RMAC, and the Greater Pueblo Sports Association Hall of Fame.
A Pueblo resident for over 60 years, Banks was inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the Greater Pueblo Sports Association (GPSA) in 1996. She was the only woman in that induction class of five, which included Joe Andenucio, Dave Dudley, Dick Vinci, and Joel Herzog (posthumously).
Since 2006, the GPSA has honored the top female scholar-athlete at CSU Pueblo with the Jessie Banks Award at its induction banquet. To date, 37 recipients have been honored.
Most of the content of this article was published by Tim Simmons, with additions from John Barker, Jr., GPSA Media Relations Director.
