James Robert Lincoln Diggs (November 7, 1866 – April 14, 1923) was an American civil rights leader, college president, pastor, and college football coach.

Diggs earned degrees from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois.

[1] Diggs was a member of the Wayland Seminary faculty when it was merged with Virginia Union University in 1898.

[2] Diggs served as the president of several colleges, including Virginia University of Lynchburg (then known as Virginia Seminary) from 1906 to 1908 and Simmons College of Kentucky from 1908 to 1911.

[3] Diggs later became a Baptist pastor, leading congregations in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.