Head Coach Jeff Jackson
Jeff Jackson was named Furman's head basketball coach, director of athletics Dr. Gary Clark announced April 24, 2006, at a press conference at the Younts Center on the University campus.
Jackson, a native of New York, N.Y., who served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Vanderbilt University for the past seven seasons, becomes Furman's 16th head coach.
"This is a signal moment in the history of Furman basketball," said Clark in making the announcement. "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."
During his 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. This past season Vanderbilt finished 16-13 season and registered its fourth NIT appearance this decade.
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, have three children: Xavier (16) Jenai (13), and Taylor (9).