SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – Longtime Fighting Irish hockey head coach Jeff Jackson said this season will be his last, marking the end (or soon to be) of an era at Notre Dame.
Jackson announced his intention to retire after the 2024-25 season on Monday and will be replaced by current Notre Dame associate head coach Brock Sheehan.
“This season marks my 20th year at Notre Dame and I have decided it will be my final one,” Jackson said in a news release. “I plan to celebrate my final year at Notre Dame doing what I love: being surrounded by a great staff and good friends and thoroughly enjoying one more season coaching this great sport at this great university. Most of all, I am honored to work with some incredible student-athletes as they pursue their dreams.”
Jackson will enter next season as the winningest active coach in Division I men's ice hockey with 589 wins after leading Notre Dame to college hockey's most perennial winning teams during his time at the helm from 2005-06.
He led the Irish to the Frozen Four four times and two national finals appearances, and his teams made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and won eight conference titles during the nearly two decades he spent behind the Irish bench.
If Sheehan succeeds Jackson, he will be the fifth head coach in the team's history. Sheehan was a member of Jackson's first Irish team, leading the team to its first Frozen Four final as a senior defenseman in 2007-08. Sheehan returned to South Bend prior to last season to serve as associate head coach.
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