The Tigers, led by first-year head coach Donte Jackson, played their home games at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center in Grambling, Louisiana as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

However, the Tigers were ineligible for postseason play due to APR violations.

As the 5-seed in the SWAC tournament they defeated Prairie View A&M before losing in the semifinals to Texas Southern.

On March 22, 2017, it was announced that head coach Shawn Walker's contract would not be renewed.

On May 12, Grambling State hired Donte Jackson from Stillman of the NAIA as new head coach.