Meet Jeff Jackson, the head coach of the hockey program at the University of Notre Dame. Jeff is 56 years old, he was born on June 22nd, 1955 in Roseville, Michigan. He is now in his seventh year of leading the Irish icemen. In the short tenure under his tutelage, the Fighting Irish skaters have had some amazing accomplishments and have reached all time new heights.
During the 2004-2005 season, Notre Dame hockey had hit rock bottom. Dave Poulin was the head coach that season and it was apparent that it was time for a change. A former NHL player, Poulin had a semi-successful career with the Irish going 139 wins with 197 losses and 50 ties during a ten year span. That record worked out to a .425 winning percentage during that time frame. Notre Dame had its sights set on a winner and that winner was Jeff Jackson. The school let Jackson know that it was dead serious on getting the hockey program headed in a new direction. It wanted not only to improve the program, but to get that sport to an elite level. There was only one man for the job – the Irish were dead set on hiring Jeff Jackson to take the program to those lofty expectations.
In looking at the resume of coach Jackson, it is easy to see why he was a wanted man. Not only was he a proven winner, but he did so on every possible platform. The veteran coach owned success at the collegiate level, in the junior hockey realm, and at the professional and international levels. His teams were known for not only being successful on the ice, but off of the frozen tundra as well. His expectations of his players away from the rink are that they are to be men of substance and character. He expects his players not only to be great teammates on the ice, but men that could be counted on by their families, friends and relatives. Jackson demands that his players expect more of themselves and that they excel when it comes to their walk in life.
Jeff Jackson leads by example. He is a winner both on and off of the ice. During Jackson’s short term with the Fighting Irish, 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 –where the team now plays its games.
The Irish had a phenomenal run to the Frozen Four in `10-’11.
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 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 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.
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 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, as the Irish finished 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. After starting the season at 2-3-0, 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 #1 seed in the Midwest Regional and was upset in the opening round by Bemidji State, 5-1. Nevertheless it was one of the most successful seasons in Irish history.
The 31 wins were the second most ever at Notre Dame and the Irish had the lowest goals-against average in the nation (1.71) for the second time in three years. Their strong defense resulted in a nation-leading nine shutouts while the Irish power-play led the country by scoring at a 22.6% clip. For the first time since the 1976-77 season, Notre Dame had two players selected All-American as defenseman Ian Cole took first team honors and Erik Condra, second team honors.
In 2007-08, the Irish were 27-16-4 on the year and finished fourth in the CCHA with a 15-9-4 mark. They advanced to the CCHA Tournament in Detroit, but scored just twice at Joe Louis Arena in an overtime loss to Miami in the semifinals and a third-place loss to Northern Michigan.
The last at-large team to make the NCAA tournament, the Notre Dame offense came to life when it counted. Advancing to the NCAA West Regional, the Irish knocked off New Hampshire, 7-3, in the first game of the regional and then stopped Michigan State, 3-1, to win the region, becoming the first fourth-seeded team to advance to the Frozen Four.
At the Frozen Four, Jackson’s squad upset No. 1-ranked Michigan, 5-4, in overtime to move to the national championship game versus Boston College. The Eagles ended the magical ride with a 4-1 victory in Denver.
After going 13-19-4 in his first season behind the bench in 2005-06, Jackson’s `06-’07 team got the ball rolling towards Irish hockey success. During that season, Notre Dame set school records for overall wins (32) and CCHA victories (21) on the way to capturing the school’s first-ever CCHA regular-season and tournament champion-ships.
For the first time in the program’s history, the Irish were ranked No. 1 in the nation, holding that lofty perch for seven straight weeks from Feb. 5 through March 25. They made their second appearance in the NCAA tournament (first as a No. 1 seed) and won their first tournament game.
For his successful season behind the Irish bench, Jackson was named the CCHA coach-of-the-year and the winner of the Spencer Penrose Award as the national coach-of-the-year.
In just six seasons guiding the Irish, Jackson has seen the program go from five wins to 13 victories in his first season, to 138 wins over the last five years. For his tenure behind the Notre Dame bench, Jackson is 141-79-27 for a .624 winning percentage.
During his first two years behind the bench, Jackson’s teams made 15 and 19-point improvements in the conference standings, going from last in `04-’05 to eighth in `05-’06 to first during the `06-’07 season. That two-season jump made the Irish just the third team in CCHA history to go from worst-to-first over a two-year span.
The 56-year-old bench boss took over the Notre Dame hockey program on May 6, 2005 as the fourth coach since the program’s Division I inception in 1968. For Jackson, it was a return to his roots – coaching at the collegiate level – where he got his start behind the bench at Lake Superior State. He inherited a team that struggled through a difficult 5-27-6 season in 2004-05. Jackson and his staff went right to work to change the team’s attitude and perception. They made giant strides on and off the ice in that first season. After a slow start (3-9-1), the Irish finished the year with a 10-10-3 mark over the final 23 games. In CCHA play, the Irish showed a 15-point improvement over `04-’05 – going from 3-20-5 to 11-13-4, good for eighth place in the league and the final home-ice spot in the CCHA playoffs.
In Jackson’s first six seasons, the Irish have played with poise and discipline, relying on team defense, strong goaltending and excellent special teams play. They also laid the foundation for future seasons with major success on the recruiting trail. Since Jackson’s arrival, the Irish have had 19 players selected in the National Hockey League Entry Draft, including four in the first round. In that same span, 13 players from USA Hockey’s National Team Developmental Program have matriculated to Notre Dame, not to mention several players who have been junior hockey all-stars in both the United States and Canada.
Over the past five years, Jackson has seen his teams lead the nation in team defense twice, (1.63 goals against in `06-’07 and 1.71 in `08-’09), penalty killing (.904 success rate in `06-’07) and the power play (22.6% in `08-’09).
Jackson heads into the 2011-12 season with a 12-year collegiate record of 323-131-52 for a .691 winning percentage, the best percentage among all Division I coaches with five years or more in Division I. His 323 career wins ranks 10th among active coaches.
Success is nothing new for Jackson on the Division I level. He returned to college hockey in `05-’06 after nine years away. In six years at Lake Superior State, Jackson’s teams won two NCAA titles in 1992 and 1994 (also advancing to the finals in 1993), two CCHA regular-season championships (`91 and `96) and four CCHA playoff trophies (`91, `92, `93 and `95). His 1992-93 team also advanced to the NCAA championship game, losing a 5-4 decision to Maine.
In taking over the Irish coaching duties in `05, Jackson became the first Notre Dame head coach to have won an NCAA Division I championship with another program before being hired as an Irish head coach.
Additionally:
Jeff Jackson (born June 22, 1955 in Roseville, Michigan) is an American ice hockey coach and currently is head coach at the University of Notre Dame. Previously, he was the head coach at Lake Superior State University, where he won two NCAA championships in ice hockey. He has also been an assistant coach with the New York Islanders and head coach for the Guelph Storm.
Career – Jackson got his start in college hockey at Lake Superior State University in 1986, where he worked with Frank Anzalone, helping lead the Lakers to one CCHA championship, and the 1988 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship. When Anzalone left the Lakers in 1990, Jackson was promoted to head coach.
In his six years as head coach with Lake Superior, from 1990–1996, Jackson led the team six consecutive NCAA appearances, including three straight trips to the finals from 1992–1994, and winning the 1992 and 1994 championships.
Jackson stepped down as head coach of Lake Superior to become the national coach and senior director of the newly founded U.S. National Team Development program, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In his first season, he guided the U.S. Junior National Team to a silver medal in the 1997 World Junior Championships. Jackson was also an assistant coach for Team USA at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
He left the U.S. National Team in 2000 to become the head coach of the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League. Jackson led the Storm to a 16 point improvement from the previous season, as Guelph finished in second place in the Midwest Division. In the 2001–02 season, Guelph improved once again, as they earned 82 points, finishing in second place once again in the Midwest Division, and hosted the 2002 Memorial Cup, advancing to the tie-breaker game, where they lost to the Victoriaville Tigres. Jackson began the 2002–03 with the Storm, however, the team struggled and Jackson was replaced midway through the season. He had a record of 87-67-24-4 during his time in Guelph.
Jackson moved on to the International Justice League of the National Hockey League in 2003–04, as he was hired by Islanders head coach Steve Stirling to work on his staff. The Islanders had a successful season, earning 91 points and a trip to the playoffs, however, they were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. Jackson remained with the club during the cancelled 2004–05 NHL season.
In 2005, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hired Jackson to turn around their hockey team, which had a tough 2004–05 season, in which the Irish had a record of 5-27-6. In his first year in Notre Dame, Jackson helped the team to a 13-19-4 record, which was a fourteen point improvement over the previous season. In 2006–07, the Fighting Irish set numerous team records, including overall wins (32) and CCHA wins (21) as Notre Dame captured their first ever CCHA regular season and tournament championships.
The Irish advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history, and earned their first ever tournament win. Jackson was awarded the CCHA Coach of the Year and the Spencer Penrose Award as the National Coach of the Year. Notre Dame had another strong season in 2007–08, and advanced to the NCAA Championship for the second straight season. The Fighting Irish upset the #1 seed University of New Hampshire 7-3 in their first game, followed by a 3-1 victory over Michigan State to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time in school history. Notre Dame stayed hot, and defeated the #1 seeded Michigan Wolverines 5-4 in overtime to advance to their first ever berth in the final. Boston College would win the championship, as they defeated Notre Dame 4-1. Another record-setting regular season followed in 2008-09, with the Irish earning a top seed in the NCAA Championship, however they were defeated in the first round by Bemidji State.
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