Head Coach Jeff Jackson Head Coach Seventh Season at Notre Dame Michigan State '78
Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson enters his seventh season directing the Irish hockey program. In his first six years, the program has had some of its greatest moments. When Notre Dame went looking for a new hockey coach following the 2004-05 campaign, the University searched for a man who could move the program among the elite hockey schools in the country. The search took them in one direction - Jeff Jackson. The veteran coach owned a resume packed with success at the collegiate, junior hockey, professional and international levels. Throughout his coaching career, Jackson’s teams had been successful both on and off the ice and the hope was that he could deliver those same qualities for the Irish. After six seasons as the guiding force behind the Notre Dame bench, its safe to say that the Irish hit a home run with the selection of Jackson. In that span, Notre Dame has become one of the nation’s top teams, winning the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s (CCHA) regular season and tournament titles twice - taking both titles in 2006-07 and 2008-09 - and has made four trips to the NCAA Tournament (2006-09, 2010-11), advancing to the NCAA Frozen Four twice, playing in the 2008 title game and the 2011 semifinals. Over the past five seasons, Jackson’s icers are among the winningest programs in the nation in wins and winning percentage, going 128-60-23 (.661) since the start of the 2006-07 campaign. Between ‘06-’09, the Irish turned in win totals of 32, 27 and 31 for three consecutive seasons of 25-or more wins and three NCAA tournament appearances for the first time in the program’s 44-year history. Jackson’s recent success on the ice also has helped off the ice. With the wins have come a commitment from the University that has led to a new home - The Compton Family Ice Arena that the team will move into this season. The Irish will go into their brand new building coming off a magical run to the Frozen Four in ‘10-’11. During last season, the Irish bounced back from a disappointing ‘09-’10 campaign to go 25-14-5 overall while leading the CCHA until the final week of the season. Notre Dame was 18-7-3-2 in the conference and finished second to Michigan by two points. After dropping both games in the CCHA Tournament, the Irish got hot in the NCAA’s, winning the Northeast Regional with wins over Merrimack (4-3 in overtime) and New Hampshire (2-1) to advance to the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn. There, Notre Dame fell in the semifinals to eventual
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Jeff Jackson is the fourth head coach in the 44-year modern history of the Notre Dame hockey program. In 12 seasons as a Division I head coach, Jackson owns a 323-131-52 career record and his .691 winning percentage is the best among active coaches. champion, Minnesota-Duluth, with a 4-3 loss. The key to Irish success in ‘10-’11 was the infusion of youth as 12 freshmen dotted the roster with as many as 11 of them playing on any given night. Jackson and his staff were able to mesh the energy of youth with solid veteran leadership to turn the Irish around from their ‘09-’10 season and return Notre Dame to the national picture last year. For his efforts, the veteran coach was selected as the CCHA’s coach of the year for the third time (‘90-’91, ‘06-’07 and ‘10’11) and was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award as the national coach of the year. In 2009-10, Notre Dame battled injuries and struggled to score all year long on the way to a 13-17-8 overall record and a 9-12-7-2 mark in the CCHA that put the Irish ninth in the conference. Prior to that, Notre Dame was one of the top programs in the nation over a three-year span. The ‘08-’09 campaign was a year to remember as Notre Dame won its second conference and playoff title in three years. A slow start left the team with a 2-3-0 record. It would then be three months before the Irish would lose again as they went on a 20-game unbeaten streak (17-0-3) from Oct. 31 to Jan. 17, while being number one in the nation for seven consecutive weeks for the second time in the program’s history. After seeing the streak stopped, Notre Dame would lose just one more time during the ‘08-’09 regular season. The Irish ended the regular season and the CCHA tournament on a 10-game winning streak. Notre Dame finished first in the conference with a 21-4-3-3 mark, eight points ahead of second-place Miami and Michigan. The Irish advanced to Joe Louis Arena for the third consecutive year by beating Nebraska-Omaha in the second round of the playoffs. The Irish then knocked off Northern Michigan, 2-1, in the semifinals and rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Michigan for the CCHA title in a 5-2 victory. Notre Dame went into the NCAA Tournament as the top seed in the Midwest Regional and was upset in the opening round by Bemidji State, 5-1.
JACKSON AT A GLANCE Full Name • Jeffery L. Jackson Birthdate • June 22, 1955 Hometown • Roseville, Michigan Education • Bachelor’s Degree in Communications Michigan State ‘78 • Bachelor’s Degree in Education Michigan State ‘79 Collegiate Coaching Experience • Assistant Coach, Lake Superior State (1986-90) • Head Coach, Lake Superior State (1990-96) Record: 182-52-25 (.751); two NCAA titles, two CCHA regular-season titles, four CCHA tournament championships • Head Coach, University of Notre Dame (2005-) Record: 141-79-27 (.624); two CCHA regularseason titles, two CCHA tournament championships International Coaching Experience • National Coach and Senior Director, U.S. National Developmental Program (1996-2000) • Head Coach, U.S. Junior National Team (1996-97) – Won silver medal at World Junior Championships • Assistant Coach, U.S. Olympic Team (1998) Junior Hockey Experience • Head Coach, Guelph Storm (2000-03) Record: 87-67-24 (4) Professional Experience • Assistant Coach, New York Islanders (2003-05) Coaching Honors • Spencer Penrose Award (2007) • CCHA Coach of the Year (1990-91, 2006-07, 2010-11)
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME®
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