The Big South Conference has named former Furman head men’s basketball coach Jeff Jackson as the League’s first Deputy Commissioner, it was announced today by Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander. Jackson will begin his duties immediately.

“Jeff Jackson will be an outstanding addition to the Big South team,” stated Kallander. “His vast on-campus coaching experience will bring a perspective to the Conference that will help enhance our service to the membership, while his basketball knowledge and relationships will help us to focus on an important priority for the Big South. Jeff is a proven leader, and has tremendous energy and enthusiasm for serving college athletics and the student-athletes. We are thrilled that he will be joining us.”

Jackson will oversee the external operations, championships and sports administration, with a primary focus on men’s and women’s basketball, and will be responsible for operationalizing the Big South’s strategic plan.

“It’s an exciting time for the Big South and I’m pleased for the opportunity to be part of it,” said Jackson. “I look forward to working with Kyle and the rest of his staff as the Conference continues to move forward.”

Jackson joins the Big South following a 30-year coaching career, which includes seven years as Furman’s head coach from 2006-13 and three seasons leading New Hampshire from 1996-99. In 2011-12, he guided the Paladins to 15 wins and an 8-10 Southern Conference mark despite returning just one starter from the previous season. In 2010-11, the New York, N.Y., native led the Paladins to their most successful campaign in two decades as Furman posted a 22-11 overall record, 12-6 Southern Conference mark and earned a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament — the school’s first postseason bid since 1991. Furman’s 22 wins ranked as the second-most in school history and the most by a Paladin squad in 30 years. The 2010-11 squad also posted a win over South Carolina — Furman’s first victory over the Gamecocks since 1979-80.

In his first season in Greenville in 2006-07, Jackson directed Furman to a 15-win campaign, including a 70-62 triumph over Vanderbilt in Nashville as well as 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.

Prior to directing the Paladin program, Jackson served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Vanderbilt University for seven seasons from 1999-06. 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 a trip to the NIT, where the Commodores advanced to the quarterfinals with victories over Indiana and Wichita State. In 2006, Vanderbilt finished 16-13 and registered its fourth NIT appearance that decade.

Jackson made his head coaching debut at New Hampshire in 1997-98, taking over a program that had registered more than 10 wins in a season just twice 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 earned 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 No. 9-seeded Cardinal defeated Bradley in the first 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, who has also done television work with ESPN3 and Fox Sports 1, 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, Jenai and Taylor.

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