Jeff Jackson Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Michigan State '78

When Notre Dame went looking for a new hockey coach following the 2004-05 season, the University searched for a coach 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 three seasons 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 in 2006-07 and then following with a first-ever NCAA Frozen Four appearance and a trip to the national championship game in 2007-08.

Over the past two years alone, the Irish have combined to win 59 games, compiling a 59-23-7 (.702) record. The 59 wins tie for the most in the nation from 2006 to 2008 with Michigan, and the .702 winning percentage is third-best over that two-year span.

With win totals of 32 and 27 in `06-'07 and `07-'08, Jackson's Notre Dame teams recorded their first back-to-back 20-win seasons in the program's history and also made consecutive NCAA tournament appearances for the first time.

Coming off the record-setting `06-'07 campaign, Jackson's squad got off to a fast start during 2007-08, going 16-4-0 over the first 20 games with a nine-game winning streak from Nov. 16 through Dec. 8. The Irish struggled through January and February, as the team averaged just two goals per game over the final 16 contests.

In the postseason, the Irish knocked off Ferris State, two games to one, in the second round of the CCHA Tournament. At Joe Louis Arena, Notre Dame scored just two goals in losses to Miami and Northern Michigan. The last at-large team to make the NCAA tournament, the Irish 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 to become 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, Jackson's `06-'07 team got the ball rolling towards Irish hockey success.

During the `06-'07 season, Notre Dame set school records for overall wins (32) and CCHA victories (21) on the way to capturing Notre Dame's first-ever CCHA regular-season and tournament championships.

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.

While Jackson's icers have gotten the job done on the ice, they have also acquitted themselves quite nicely off the ice in both the classroom and the community. As a team, the Irish turned in a 3.32 grade-point average in the classroom and they are heavily involved in the University's community service work.

In just three seasons at Notre Dame, Jackson has seen the program go from five wins to 13 victories in his first season, to the 59-23-7 record over the last two years for a 72-42-11 (.620) mark in his three seasons guiding the Irish.

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 53-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 and had lost confidence in itself. The Roseville, Mich., native 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 directing the team's fortunes.

After a slow start (3-9-1), his players began to buy into what the new coach was selling and 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. Only Miami made a bigger jump in `05-'06 with a 16-point improvement.

In Jackson's first three seasons, the Irish have played with poise and discipline, relying on team defense, strong goaltending and excellent special teams play. They also have laid the foundation for future seasons with major success on the recruiting trail.

Over the past two years, Jackson has seen his teams lead the nation in team defense (1.63 goals against in `06-'07) and penalty killing (.904 success rate in `06-'07). Last season the Irish were fifth (2.13) and third (.887) in each category respectively.

Jackson heads into the 2008-09 season with a nine-year collegiate record of 254-94-36 for a .708 winning percentage, the best percentage among all Division I coaches with five years or more in Division I. His 254 career wins tie him for 17th 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.

In making the announcement of Jackson's hiring, then Notre Dame director of athletics, Kevin White said, "Jeff Jackson has a first-hand appreciation of exactly what it takes to be successful at the very highest level of the collegiate hockey world. His accomplish-ments at Lake Superior State in winning multiple NCAA titles - combined with his work and connections from the United States national developmental program and from the professional level - provide him a solid foundation from which to lead the Notre Dame hockey program."

The highly regarded Jackson brings over 22 years of coaching experience to the Irish as an assistant and a head coach at the NCAA Division I level, on the international level with the U.S. national program, in major junior hockey and at the National Hockey League level.

A 1978 graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in communications, Jackson followed with a degree in education in 1979.

Jackson got his start in college hockey as an assistant coach at Lake Superior State in 1986 where he served four years under Frank Anzalone, helping guide the Lakers to one CCHA championship and the 1988 NCAA title.

When Anzalone moved to the professional ranks following the 1989-90 season, Jackson took over as the head coach of the Lakers and in a six-year span (1991-96), guided them to six consecutive NCAA appearances, including three straight trips to the title game from 1992 through 1994.

In his first season behind the Lakers' bench, Jackson's squad was 33-10-3 overall and 26-2-4 in league play, winning the CCHA regular-season and tournament titles. They lost in the NCAA quarterfinals to Clarkson, two games to one.

A year later, Lake Superior State ran off its second 30+ win season under Jackson, going 30-9-4 on the year, while finishing second in the league with a 20-8-4 mark. The Lakers proceeded to knock off Alaska Anchorage and Minnesota in the regionals before beating Michigan State (4-2) in the semifinals and Wisconsin (5-3) in Albany, N.Y., in the first of three consecutive trips to the NCAA finals.

The Lakers were 32-8-5 during the 1992-93 season and finished third in the CCHA with a 20-5-5 record. They captured the league's tournament title by beating Miami, 3-0, in the finals at Joe Louis Arena. Lake Superior defeated Minnesota-Duluth in the West Regional to advance to the finals at Milwaukee, Wis. There, the Lakers defeated Boston University in the semifinals and then faced Maine, led by Paul Kariya and Jim Montgomery, in the finals. A third-period rally by the Black Bears gave them a 5-4 win.

Lake Superior didn't dwell on the loss for long as the Lakers' success continued with a 31-10-4 record and a second-place CCHA finish in 1993-94. After losing to Michigan in the CCHA championship game, Jackson's team rebounded by winning overtime games versus Northeastern (6-5), Michigan (5-4) and Harvard (3-2) to face Boston University in the title game at St. Paul, Minn. The Terriers weren't much of a match for the Lakers as they recorded their second championship in three years with a 9-1 win.

Jackson's Lakers followed their second championship season in 1994-95 with a 23-12-6 record and won their fourth CCHA tournament title. In the NCAA tournament, Lake Superior defeated Clarkson in the first game of the East Regional and then lost to Boston University in the Regional final.

In his final season in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Jackson saw the Lakers return to the 30-win plateau, going 30-8-2 overall and winning their second regular-season title with a 22-6-2 mark. Lake Superior then lost to Michigan in the CCHA title game (just the second CCHA tournament loss in Jackson's six years - 24-2) and saw the season come to an end with a loss in the East Regionals to Vermont.

During his six years guiding the Lakers, Jackson produced 12 All-Americans (five first team and seven second team) and one Academic All-American. In 1991, he was recognized as the CCHA coach of the year. He is just one of 12 coaches to win multiple NCAA championships. From 1993-96, he also served as the Director of Athletics at Lake Superior.

Several of Jackson's players advanced to play in the NHL. The list includes: Doug Weight, Brian Rolston, Keith Aldridge, Blaine Lacher, John Grahame, Bates Battaglia and Jim Dowd.

On June 7, 1996, Jackson was named 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 while putting the program in place, he served as the head coach for the United States Junior National Team that captured the silver medal at the 1997 World Junior Championships, at the time, the best finish ever for the U.S. team. Former Irish captain Ben Simon, was a member of that squad.

The following year, Jackson served as an assistant coach for Team USA at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. In his four years directing the national program, eight former Notre Dame players came from the developmental program. The list includes: Brett Henning, Michael Chin, Connor Dunlop, Paul Harris, John Wroblewski, Brett Lebda, Neil Komadoski and Rob Globke.

In 2000, Jackson left the U.S. program and took over as coach of the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) Guelph Storm where he turned a losing franchise around, finishing in second place in his first season with a 34-23-9-2 record. In the 2001-02 season, the Storm went 37-23-7-1 and hosted the Memorial Cup, advancing to the tiebreaker game where they lost to Victoriaville. In two-and-a-half seasons in Guelph, Jackson had an 87-67-24-4 record.

From Guelph, Jackson moved on to the National Hockey League's (NHL) New York Islanders where he served as an assistant on Steve Stirling's staff from 2003-05. In 2003-04, the Islanders finished third in the NHL's Atlantic Division with a 38-29-11-4 record, good for 91 points. The Islanders lost in the first round of the playoffs to eventual Stanley Cup winner, Tampa, four games to one.

In May of 2003, Inside College Hockey, ranked Jackson 12th on its list of the 16 Greatest College Coaches of all-time with only five of the 16 still active in coaching.

Born June 22, 1955, Jackson is a member of the USA Hockey Coaches Achievement Program, the American Hockey Coaches Association and the National Hockey League Coaches Association.