Jeff Jackson Position: Head Coach (Cornell '84) Experience: 2nd Year

On April 24, 2006, Furman University director of athletics Dr. Gary Clark introduced Jeff Jackson as the Paladins' new head basketball coach, and a little over a year and a half later it appears the confidence Furman placed in Jackson is well founded.

In his first season in charge, Jackson directed Furman to a 15-win campaign, including a 70-62 triumph over Vanderbilt in Nashville and a 76-72 overtime win over Southern Conference North Division champion Appalachian State in Greenville. In addition, the new Paladin mentor and his highly motivated staff hit the recruiting trail hard, producing a talented seven-member freshman class -- one of the largest in program history.

Jackson, a native of New York, N.Y., who served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Vanderbilt University for seven seasons prior to his move to Greenville, is Furman's 16th head coach.

"This is a signal moment in the history of Furman basketball," said Clark at the time of Jackson's hiring. "In Jeff Jackson we have secured an accomplished recruiter and experienced floor coach who will be an outstanding leader of our basketball program. He is also a gentleman of the highest integrity who will be an ideal ambassador for Paladin basketball."

Said Furman president Dr. David Shi, "Jeff Jackson is uniquely qualified to lead our men's basketball program and represents the very best qualities we were searching for in a head basketball coach. His broad coaching experience and proven recruiting ability at schools that share the same academic and athletic values we embrace made him very attractive. He also possesses a strong commitment to student-athletes and a level of professionalism that will represent Paladin basketball and the university in a distinguished manner."

Another voice familiar with Furman and its unique position in the realm of collegiate athletics, highly respected former Paladin head football coach and current Vanderbilt mentor, Bobby Johnson, offered this insight on Jackson:

"I had the pleasure of knowing Jeff for five years at Vanderbilt and from the start thought he was an outstanding person. He is an excellent recruiter who represented Vanderbilt with total class, and I have no doubt he will do the same for Furman. He and I had an opportunity to talk many times, and I know he wouldn't have left Vanderbilt except for a great situation, and Furman affords him that opportunity. He's a perfect fit for Paladin basketball and the Furman community, and he is well prepared to handle the university's academic challenges and competition he will face in the Southern Conference."

During Jackson's tenure at Vanderbilt under head coach Kevin Stallings, the Commodores made one NCAA Tournament appearance and participated in four National Invitation Tournaments. In 2004 the Commodores posted a 23-10 record and advanced to the NCAA "Sweet 16" with wins over Western Michigan and N.C. State before falling to eventual national champion Connecticut. That same year he was named one of the top 25 college basketball recruiters in the country by Rivals.com after Vanderbilt's 2005 freshman class garnered national recognition by the service.

Vanderbilt followed up its stellar 2004 campaign with a 20-14 season in 2005 and trip to the NIT, where the Commodores advanced to the quarterfinals with victories over Indiana and Wichita State. In 2006 Vanderbilt finished 16-13 season and registered its fourth NIT appearance this decade.

Jackson made his head coaching debut at New Hampshire in 1997, taking over a program that had only twice registered more than 10 wins in a season since 1984. In his first season the Wildcats won seven games and the next year improved to 10-17. His 1998-99 recruiting class was ranked 15th by Mike Sheridan of Eastern Basketball Magazine, marking the first time in school history a New Hampshire recruiting class had ever achieved a regional ranking.

Jackson's coaching worksheet includes four seasons at Stanford, where he served as recruiting coordinator under head coach Mike Montgomery from 1994-97. During his stay in Palo Alto, the Cardinal won 20 games twice and made the school's first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

The 1995-96 Stanford squad was ranked as high as No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. In the NCAA Tournament, the Cardinal, a No. 9 seed, defeated Bradley in the opening round before falling to eventual Final Four participant Massachusetts.

Prior to his move to Stanford, Jackson served in assistant coaching capacities at Colorado State (1989-92), and St. Bonaventure (1986-89). He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Southern California in 1985 after serving as a student assistant coach his final two years at Cornell.

Jackson graduated from Cornell in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial and labor relations. He and his wife, Carolyn, also a graduate of Cornell, have three children: Xavier (17), a freshman at MIT, Jenai (14), and Taylor (10).