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Jack Parker

Jack Parker

A legendary figure in American hockey, Jack Parker (Somerville, Mass.) coached 1,484 games at the NCAA Division I level with Boston University over 40 seasons and won 897 of them, amassing a .643 winning percentage, three national championships, 11 conference titles and 21 Beanpot Tournament crowns. He retired after the 2012-13 season as one of only three coaches to be named a three-time recipient of the Spencer Penrose Award as NCAA Division I Coach of the Year (1975, 1978, 2009). Upon his departure from the coaching ranks, Parker had the third most victories in NCAA history, the fourth best winning percentage among NCAA Division I coaches with more than 1,000 games behind the bench, and the most wins at one school (897). 

While leading his alma mater, Parker helped develop a lengthy list of National Hockey League players and 24 Olympians, among them Tony Amonte, Jim Craig and Mike Eruzione, a triumvirate that played a role in authoring two of the greatest triumphs in U.S. hockey history at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, respectively. Another Parker protégé, Mike Sullivan, played at Boston University in the 1980s before embarking on a coaching career during which he became the first American head coach to win consecutive Stanley Cups. 

In addition to his duties at Boston University, Parker answered his country’s coaching call on three occasions, serving as assistant coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team in 1995, head coach of the 1996 U.S. National Junior Team and head coach of the 2013 U.S. Men’s Select Team which won the Deutschland Cup. 

A graduate of Catholic Memorial High School, Parker also produced a memorable playing career at Boston University, helping win three Beanpot championships and serving as the Terriers’ captain during his senior season (1968). After college, he coached one season at Medford High School before returning to Boston University as an assistant coach where he helped lead the Terriers to NCAA titles in both 1971 and 1972. He took over as head coach at BU in 1973 and was inducted into the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.